Deirfiúr
by Lalaith Quetzalli
Summary: -AU to Nightingale.- During his exile Thor realizes something is terribly wrong with his brother, which prompts him to look up the one person he believes can help, someone no one but him and Loki himself know exists: his sister, his brother's wife... The two of them together just might be able to save the one they care for most. (X-Men movies and AoS cameos) LN, TJ, PD and others.
1. Sister

Deirfiúr

(Alternative Universe to _Nightingale_)

_By: Lalaith Quetzalli _

_During his exile Thor realizes something is terribly wrong with his brother, which prompts him to look up the one person he believes can help, someone no one but him and Loki himself know exists: his sister, his brother's wife... The two of them together just might be able to save the one they care for most. _

**Sister**

Only one person knew about me, about us; so when he asked for help I couldn't say no.

"_Today Father announced who will be taking over as King of Asgard while he goes into the Odinsleep." Loki informed me. _

_I kept my silence, knowing it was better to give him time to talk and just listen. Maybe that was all he truly needed, for someone to listen to him. And if not, when the moment came, I would try to do what was needed. _

"_It was Thor, obviously." Loki went on, his voice turning mocking briefly. "Thor Odinson, the man who can do no wrong…as if." He snorted, before talking normally once again. The Councilors, and other assorted high members of the Asgardian Court seemed to be of the belief that there was never any other option. Even the possibility of me ever ascending to the throne never so much as crossed their minds!" _

"_I thought you once told me you disliked the idea of being King…" I commented softly. "Something about considering it too boring…" _

"_Of course I do! All the pomp and circumstance…" He shook his head. "Not to my liking, I'm more the 'working behind the scene' kind of guy. Still, what angers me is that they never so much as considered the possibility that I might be as deserving of the throne as Thor. It's like… like I don't exist, maybe they think I shouldn't." _

"_Those who believe that are ignorant beings and you shouldn't bother with them Loki. If they cannot see your worth it's their loss. They're idiots." _

"_Wonder what they would think if a Midgardian ever told them that to their face." He snorted. _

"_I would if I could, not that I think it would mean much to them." _

"_No, it wouldn't. And that's yet another area where their ignorance shows. And in this case, not only the councilors', but also Thor's and Father's…" _

_We got off topic for a while, talking about the Asgardians' disregard for us Midgardians and our world, their apparent disapproval for any kind of connection between our worlds (which gave me an idea of just how hard a time we were gonna have when our connection was discovered; because I knew better than to think we could hide forever). _

_I tried to be patient, I really did, but eventually I had to push us both back to the original topic: Thor's upcoming coronation … and while I knew Loki never expected to get the throne, I still couldn't help but feel frustrated for him. He would be such an amazing King… I was sure of it. While he might not appear to be the 'nicest' person, he was kind, honorable, fair, he knew the political game like no one else I had ever known and had both the courage and the wits to do whatever it took to protect those he saw as deserving of his care and protection. _

"_So…if Thor being the heir isn't what's truly bothering you, what is it?" I tried to be kind even as I pushed for us to return to the main topic of conversation. _

"_First of all. I don't think Thor is ready. He's reckless, arrogant, temperamental, prone to acting before thinking. Who knows what kind of disasters he might bring upon Asgard if he becomes King as he is right now!" _

"_Have you shared your thoughts with your father, or Thor himself?" _

"_Ha!" Loki snorted. "Thor has little respect of my opinions whenever I'm not getting him and his friends out of mortal danger, even after I've just done so…" He shook his head. "And Father… if he trusted me in any way we wouldn't be in this situation, would we?" _

_I didn't say a word, waiting for him to go on, it seemed like we were finally reaching the crux of the matter, at last… _

"_I have no wish to be King, you know that. I always thought that one day Thor would ascend to the throne and I would be standing there to support him…maybe I could be his Head Advisor, or something like that." _

"_The position would fit you well." I agreed. _

"_Yeah well…seeing as he practically never listens to me, I'm not so sure…but that's not the point. When we were children, Father always said Thor and I were princes, both with equal right to the throne, both born to be Kings…why then does he disregard me so easily when the time comes for him to actually choose someone to take the throne? I don't wish to be King, I wish for my father to believe that I could do it if I had to!" _

_That, there it was, the core of everything: Loki wanted Odin to believe in him… _

"_Oh Loki…" I whispered, taking his hands in mine, trying to be as comforting as I could. "I'm no Asgardian, no one important who could possibly say anything to the Allfather to convince him to open his eyes and see what he's missing. He's blind if he doesn't realize the value you have. You might not be a warrior like Thor is, but your magic, and your cleverness, and your heart…you are a wonderful man Loki, and I truly believe your father will see it one day. Just give him time. A day will come when you will get the chance to prove yourself and your father will realize how amazing his second son is…" _

_Angels and Spirits above! If I had only know what would be happening in the following days, the way my words would be twisted and torn in the face of an impossible situation, a tragedy of immeasurable proportions…_

**xXx**

I had finished my classes, handed in my last paper the night before Loki dropped in on my dorm room and we had the rather tense chat regarding Thor's future coronation. While I knew a few students chose to stay during the month before the proper graduation, either because it was easier for them or just so they could spend the time with friends and partying… truth was I had never made that many friends, that many attachments really. While I got a long fairly well with a few students and a handful of professors I had no illusion about keeping in touch with them on the long run. While I didn't actually have a plan on what might be in my future, I still didn't believe it included staying much longer in or around Norwich University.

So I took a plane back to Maine and I waited… I wasn't even sure what I was waiting for exactly. For Loki to return? Surely. For him to have succeeded in his self-imposed mission of stopping Thor from becoming King? I wasn't sure. I agreed completely with him that the Thunderer could not become King yet, he just wasn't ready. But I was afraid of the lengths my love might be willing to go to stop the coronation from happening. I knew him too well, and when he believed he was right, nothing could stop him. What if he took things too far and something happened to him? If something went wrong in his plans, impossible as it might seem with how great a strategist he was. Or worse even, what if Odin discovered what he was doing and turned against him? Despite the great praise some individuals like Thor might have to say about the Allfather, I have better knowledge than most about the kind of monster he could be, thanks in part to Loki, and in part to my own studies of Norse mythology.

In the end I just prayed Loki would return to me, no matter when, or how, just that he would somehow find his way back to me.

Things didn't actually work in any way I'd expected, or hoped for them to. I did get Loki back, eventually, though not in any way I could have even considered, it all began with a phone call, on the fifth day after Loki's last visit (the day before Thor's supposed-coronation). I'd been growing progressively tenser and more stressed out as the week passed, as I kept waiting for any sign of Loki and received none. And I could sense, every day and even more acutely every night, that something was wrong. I'd even begun to pick up on the rumors, mostly on certain forums online, that something was going on in the South, somewhere in New Mexico. Some kind of meteor or broken piece of a satellite, small but so strong no one could pick it up... and then my phone rang that morning...

"Hello...?" I answered, unsure.

While I always carried my mobile with me, I hardly ever used it. It's not like I had that many friends, and my aunt and I had a specific routine, if anything changed she usually knew it with enough time to let me know in person, or leave a post-it somewhere I would find it (and it's not like she could use her own cel inside the hospital). So my phone was mostly for emergencies, which is probably a good way to classify what happened with that call...

"Hello is this... oh lord this is totally crazy..." A female voice on the other side of the line began mumbling to herself.

I considered hanging up, but then changed my mind when thinking how few people actually had my number, and the possibilities each of them could have to be calling me, or having someone else do so... still, I never imagined what actually happened.

"Is this Deirfiúr?" She finally asked directly.

The word, even in the awfully-mispronounced and heavily-accented voice of the American woman who obviously knew nothing about Irish (language, or culture), was enough to raise all kinds of red flags inside my head. Only one person called me that...

"What is going on?" I asked in a dead-serious tone. "Who are you miss? Because there is only one person in the universe who calls me that and..."

And I did not know. What the hell was going on?!

"My name is Jane Foster, I'm in New Mexico." The woman on the other side of the line answered slowly. "I'm a Dr. in Astrophysics. And... I swear to you, that as insane as this sounds, I have a man here with me, he gave me your number, asked me to call you, said you would understand if I called you by that word, I..."

"What the hell is Thor doing in New Mexico?!" I blurted out before I was fully conscious of my own words.

Really, I was just too shocked to fully process things in that moment. But, it really had to be Thor. Because he was the only one who called me Deifiúr, the Irish word for sister...

"Oh, so he's not crazy then." Jane actually sounded relieved. "I was beginning to think I was making a fool of myself."

"You're not." I told her. "I am Deifiúr, though you may call me Silbhé if you wish, for that is my actual name, Silbhé Salani. Deirfiúr is just what Thor calls me." I made a pause before adding. "I still don't understand, what the hell is going on? Why is Thor there with you?"

"I..." She sounded unsure. "Mind if I put you on speaker?"

"Go ahead." I said right away.

Maybe it would make things easier. At least I would be able to talk to Thor then. The whole call was stressing the hell out of me!

"Deifiúr!" I heard the blonde's boisterous voice through the phone. "Are you there?"

"I am here Thor." I told him, holding the phone a certain distance from my ear so as not to go deaf with his loud tone. "What is going on? Are you alright?"

"I am well." He answered, though somehow much more quietly than before.

"Thor, what is going on?" I insisted. "Who is this woman you asked to call me? Why did you even do that? You know my existence is supposed to be a secret. Maverick explained all this to you when you found us out. You promised to protect our secrets!"

"It is true I made that promise, and it was one I never intend to break, you must believe that." He said in a very serious tone. "But things have happened. You gave me that number to memorize in case of an emergency... said I could use it to find you if I ever truly needed your help."

"And you do so now." I finished for him. "Is this connected to you being here on Midgard, which you still haven't explained... especially what exactly you're doing in New Mexico of all places!"

"I need your help, that is true." Thor agreed readily. "But even more so I strongly believe my brother needs the help of us both." He made a pause before adding in his most somber tone yet: "Something is terribly wrong with my brother, Nightingale, Deirfiúr..."

I didn't need him to say anything else. That was enough.

"I'll take the first plane I can catch." I addressed Jane next. "Dr. Foster, where are you exactly?"

"Puente Antiguo, New Mexico." The woman told me through the phone. "I really don't think there are any commercial planes that can bring you here, Miss Salani."

"Then I'll get a plane to the closest location possible, and then a cab or a bus, or whatever else I need to." I abruptly remembered my aunt. "I'll just need to settle some personal matters first, just so no one goes looking for me while I'm away. I will be there tomorrow at the latest."

"Deifiúr..." I heard Thor call in a low voice.

"I know you don't like it Thor, and I still have no idea what exactly is wrong with my match." I reminded him. "But I suppose that's not the kind of thing we should be talking about on an open line... Like I said, I'll be there tomorrow." I made a pause before doing my best to reassure him, and myself. "Thor, whatever is wrong, we will make it right, you'll see... deartháir..."

"I trust you deirfiúr..." He agreed.

I snapped my phone close then, on the move before I was fully conscious of it. I needed to pack a bag, buy plane tickets, maybe bus tickets, and arrange for a taxi or whatever else I needed to get into Puente Antiguo proper... I also needed to get in touch with Aunt Kathryn so she wouldn't arrive to the house and just find me gone...

It was an absolute mess, my stress not gone at all, some would say it only got worse after the call. And yet, the fact that I was actually doing something about it rather than just sitting, waiting for things to just happen, it helped.

**xXx**

Things couldn't be done as fast as I would have liked, though a part of me had already expected that and planned ahead, it's why I'd told them I would arrive until the next day. In the end the best I found was a nine hour flight with two hour-long layovers, first in Chicago and then in Denver. I

arrived in Santa Fe late that night.

I had booked a room in a small bed and breakfast close to the airport, though I hardly slept a wink, worried as I was for my match and whatever had made Thor end up in Puente Antiguo of all places (that town was so small it didn't even appear in most maps!). I also worried for the things I kept sensing through my bond with Loki, it made everything harder. I wanted to be able to help, I wanted to at least know what the hell was wrong! But like I'd told Thor, those weren't the kind of things we could talk about on the phone. Not with all the paranoid people in high levels of certain secret agencies that liked eavesdropping on everyone's business and called it something they 'needed to do for national security'.

The next morning I was up way too-early (part of hardly being able to sleep). I took a long bath in an attempt to force myself to relax (though it didn't work very well), then, after having some of the breakfast the place offered, I took my unpacked bag and hailed a cab. I didn't even bother trying to negotiate the fare to Puente Antiguo, just gave the driver what he wanted (which I was quite sure was way too high even for the distance) and waited.

After a few hours we finally made it to Puente Antiguo. Thankfully the town was small enough that the first person I asked for Dr. Foster's whereabouts (a young waitress in what looked like the only cafe in town) knew where I needed to go; it wasn't even that far away. I could make it there walking, a small (relatively) satchel slung over my shoulder; I had enough clothes for a week or so. On my other shoulder I had a much smaller bag with my most precious possessions.

In no time at all I was standing in front of what, judging by all the glass walls, I imagined it must have been a store at some point.

"Hello?" I called approaching the closed doors. "Anybody here?"

"Who are you?" A voice called suddenly from a side.

I turned to see a tall curvy brunette in simple washed-jeans and a loose top, walking towards me from a side of the building.

"I ask again." She repeated, noticing my stare. "Who are you? What are you doing here? You're not with those government thieves, are you?"

"Government thieves?" I was confused by that. "No, I'm with no government. My name is Silbhé Salani..." When that didn't seem to get a response I chose to use the other name. "Deirfiúr..."

"So that's how it's pronounced!" She cried out brightly. "I had a feeling Jane had been butchering that word..." She shook her head. "What language is it in anyway?"

"Irish..." I answered, not fully paying attention to the question. "Can you lead me to Dr. Foster? I need to talk to her and... a friend."

"Yes, they told me you were Thor's friend." The brunette nodded, waving at me.

I followed, going around the closed building, only to find a trailer behind it, apparently where they were living in that moment. As the brunette babbled on about this and that (I wasn't fully paying attention), the one thing I noticed was the repeated mention of two people: Jane and Thor, I couldn't help but wonder how much she knew. And if she knew anything at all, why? I knew very well, better than probably anyone else in the world, the consequences of mortals knowing the truth about those from Asgard... there was a reason why my existence had been kept a secret by my Maverick, why we'd emphasized so much on the need for that secrecy when Thor found us out when I was seventeen... and yet something had happened. Something serious enough he had gotten someone to call my number, and he'd asked me to be there...

"Deirfiúr!" Thor's loud call brought me out of my thoughts immediately.

I dropped my satchel automatically, just in time because the next thing I knew I was being spun around in a wide arc, held up by Thor's strong arms.

"Put me down Thor!" I demanded, unable to fully keep myself from giggling at his antics.

Really, I wasn't that surprised, it wasn't like his reception was anything new. He'd done the exact same thing every time we met; from the second time at least, when he actually knew who I was. The first had been another matter entirely.

"Thor?" I heard a voice call hesitantly from behind, immediately connecting it to the woman who'd phoned me the day before: Dr. Foster.

Jane Foster was a woman who looked to be in her late-twenties, with chocolate eyes and slightly-wavy light-brown hair that reached her shoulder-blades. Dressed in simple, comfortable clothes for the New Mexico dessert. It didn't take a genius to recognize the glint of jealousy in her eyes when she noticed the effusiveness in Thor's greeting.

"Who are you?" An older man asked as he stepped beside Dr. Foster.

I was sure I wasn't imagining his defensive tone. I wondered if it was because of the young doctor by his side, his stance did show a certain protectiveness over her; or was it that he simply considered me an outsider and was taking precautions. Considering the conditions they were living in, the abandoned-look of the building we'd gone around, and the agents I was quite sure I hadn't hallucinated were going around the town... maybe he wasn't exactly wrong... still I could not help but feel offended at his tone.

"I thought the polite thing to do was to introduce yourself before going around demanding other people's names." I couldn't help my words, or the biting tone.

"My friends! It's alright, she's to be trusted." Thor assured them before turning to me. "This are my new friends: Eric Selvig, Darcy Lewis and Jane Foster." He turned to them yet again. "My friends! This is my sister, Nightingale!"

"Sister/Nightingale?" All three of them asked at the same time.

"Is that what D...De... that word, means?" Darcy asked suddenly, connecting the dots.

"Deirfiúr." I pronounced it carefully so she noticed the right way. "And yes, like I told you before, it's Irish, and it means sister."

"Why Irish?" Jane asked, her curiosity overriding the jealousy. "I thought... well, that they were connected with the Norse and all that..."

"They are, the Irish is because of me." I clarified. "My mother was Irish. She died when I was three and I chose to learn the language from a young age as a way to honor her memory." I remembered something right then and added. "By the way, he might call me Nightingale. But I'm actually human, my name is Silbhé Salani."

"The genius girl from Norwich!" Darcy cried out unexpectedly.

"Yes..." I murmured, turning to look at her, wondering how she knew that.

"Every university knows about you." Darcy told me. "They say no one has finished their studies as fast as you did, at least not in your specialties."

I shrugged. I didn't care much about such comments, to be honest. There were others I thought deserved the title of genius far more than I did, like Tony Stark, Charles Xavier, Reed Richards, to name but a few.

"University...?" Dr. Selvig repeated, confused. "But you're just a child."

"I am small, but you must know doctor, that appearances can be deceiving." I commented. "Take Thor here as an example, he's over a thousand years old, yet hardly looks a day over thirty. And about me, before you ask, I'm actually nineteen."

"So young..." He muttered yet again.

He said it so low it was obvious I wasn't actually meant to hear him, so I pretended not to.

"Now that we're done with the pleasantries..." I murmured as I turned to Thor, who still stood beside me. "What is wrong with my husband?"

That just seemed to light them all up again.

"Husband?!" It was Darcy who shrieked the loudest at the revelation.

"But you're just nineteen..." Selvig muttered, just as shocked.

"And I've been married for all of one week..." I answered with a tired sigh. "I haven't even been on my honeymoon yet!" Yet again I focused on Thor. "I should be on that right now. So tell me, why are you here on Midgard, with a diminished aura, while my husband is up there doing... whatever the hell it is he's doing instead of being here with me, like a match ought to be. I know something happened Thor, something bad, I can feel it inside me..." I pressed a fist against my chest. "So tell me what it is!"

It was true, every single word I'd just said. Loki and I had gone through the Ancient Bonding ceremony with Thor as our sole witness the day before the coronation was to take place. The blonde had promised that when he had the throne he would sanction our marriage and make sure the council gave me the chance to go through the trials and become a goddess myself. Loki and I didn't believe it would be that simple, but were thankful to Thor for his intentions all the same. A part of me, though, did hope such a thing could be true.

Our wedding night was the last night I spent in the apartment I'd been renting since moving out of the in-campus dorms (when I was sixteen). Loki had woken me before dawn in the morning and after some cuddling left; he'd wanted to let me sleep longer, but the last thing I wanted was to wake up the morning after my wedding alone. Even if it wasn't exactly legal in either of our realms just yet, we were bonded, we could feel it...

Thor's involvement in the whole thing (beyond his good intentions) was harder to explain. He'd known about me since I was seventeen. Apparently Sif had noticed Loki acting suspiciously and informed the Thunderer about it, he'd told her to leave his brother alone, only to then follow the sorcerer himself. It was a day Loki had opted to travel the Hidden Roads rather than the Shadow Paths; he did it ever-so-often both so he wouldn't forget them, to keep practicing that method of travel, and especially when he wanted to save some energy.

Thankfully Thor had chosen to confront his brother and I rather than tell his father on us. We'd somehow managed to impress upon him the importance of no one else on Asgard knowing about me, the kind of consequences that would fall upon me if it was ever known... and in the end, Thor had chosen to trust his brother, he said nothing. Still, he apparently liked feeling that his brother trusted him, and insisted on Loki having someone to talk to about me, and since they couldn't say my real name in public, they would call me Nightingale, the name my love had chosen for me when I was just nine-years-old and so absolutely fascinated with the birds that sung and flew around the rose-bushes in my garden.

The visits continued; most times only Loki visited me, but there were times when Thor insisted on tagging along, he saw me as a close friend as well and it just grew when Loki and I became serious about each other (Thor had something to do with that, pushing us to confessing, using a wit neither of us believed he possessed!). It was near the end of one such visit that I'd gotten Thor to memorize my cell-phone number in case of an emergency. I knew the chances of it ever being necessary were so small as to be nearly-irrelevant; yet I wanted to be prepared, I also saw it as a way of showing Thor I would be there if he ever needed me, that I wanted to be his friend, part of his family too, and not just Loki's.

As it turned out, it was a really good idea to give Thor that number... even if I still did not know why it had taken him four days to call me!

The evening of our ceremony Thor had insisted that he be allowed to call me something else, something to show our connection, to show that I was family... it was my match's idea to use the very word he wanted: sister, but in a language it was unlikely anyone in Asgard would know. Thor seemed to like it specially, said it made him feel close to us... It was also why I called him deartháir, brother, in the very same language.

"You're married to his brother..." Jane murmured in sudden understanding, the jealousy finally disappearing completely from her eyes.

"Yes, I am married to his brother, Loki." I told her absent-minded, my full focus still on my brother. "Tell me what happened!"

The look in his eyes, the way he kept opening his mouth and then closing it again told me one thing: he did not know how to explain; so after we stared at each other for a while, he suddenly lowered his head, just enough to press our foreheads together.

I was just beginning to learn magic, and Thor knew nothing of the art, but we were connected n a certain way, through Loki, and that, compounded by his desire to share his own memories and mine to know what had happened, seemed to be all that was needed. The exchange wasn't clean or easy, nothing like when Loki did it; it was harsh, the memories full of sharp edges, harsh impacts of emotion and at times entangled mixes of what-is/could-have-been/should-have-been. Still, I managed to get a clear enough picture of what had happened that day, after my match had left me to attend his brother's coronation... as well as dozens of hints of what had happened in the almost-week since.

"I have just one question, Thor..." I told him in a whisper, holding his head against mine. "Do you know why Loki did what he did?"

"I... I do... I jus..." He let out a breath, defeated, before finally admitting. "He thinks... no, he knows I'm not ready to be King." He closed his eyes in shame. "He knew it, even when I refused to admit it, when Father refused to see it... he knew."

"Yes, he did." I nodded.

"And you did as well." He guessed easily enough.

"I did." I answered with no hesitation.

"Yet you kept silent on the matter..." He only half-reproached me.

"It wasn't my place." I told him quietly yet purposefully. "Whatever my thoughts might have been on the matter, my opinion held no weight. And even Loki's... the Allfather refused to listen to him." I shook my head. "You must understand Thor, that Loki knows you're meant to be King, you are the heir..."

"I shouldn't be." Thor interrupted me. "My brother is as much a prince of Asgard as I am, and far more deserving of the throne than I'll ever be..."

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, brother..." I told him with a small smile. "We didn't think you to be ready now, but that doesn't mean you'll never be... No, you'll be King, I'm sure one day you'll be a good King. But right now you're just not ready, because you aren't truly interested in being King, not really, not yet."

He didn't even try to deny what I was saying.

"The question now is... where do we go from here?" I voiced what I knew was in both of our minds. "How do we save Loki?"

"I don't know." He admitted quietly, burying his face in my neck. "It's why I asked Lady Jane to call you. I want to save my brother, I do... but I don't know how..."

"We'll find a way Thor, I promise you." I told him immediately.

I meant it. Neither of us had any idea how, but we would do it, if it was the last thing we did, we would save Loki...

**xXx**

We spent most of the day coming up with all kind of plans, only to scrap them up sooner or later. Thor had been rendered powerless, mortal, and thus had no way of returning on Asgard on his own; and while he might accept me as his sister and Loki's match, to the rest of the Aesir I would simply be a mortal girl who knew far more than she should.

"I just don't understand, why all the secrecy?" Darcy asked at one point.

I had explained my history, my bond with Loki and later on with Thor. I had just given them the cliff-notes version, of course, some things were simply too personal or complicated to explain properly. Though I did share how Loki had saved my life when I was fourteen and dying from leukemia... I also informed them (vaguely) that as a consequence of that very act if one of us died, so would the other. Neither of them understood why, but they didn't question it either, probably thought that the magic involved made anything possible.

"There is a law in Asgard." I explained quietly. "While they consider our world to be under their protection, they also think we should stay separated from the other realms, and their inhabitants. This..." I signaled all around us. "Connecting with one of them, knowing the truth about them, goes against those rules."

"What does that mean, for us?" Jane asked, facing Thor.

"I don't know..." Thor murmured evasively.

I couldn't help it, I snorted.

"Is he lying?" Jane asked, turning to me next.

"Not exactly." I let out a breath. "I don't know if Thor really doesn't know, doesn't want to admit it, or if he thinks that the circumstances might change things..." I shook my head. "I have been Loki's friend for eight years now and the only person who's ever found out about our friendship is Thor. And we didn't plan on that. Loki got careless, Sif noticed something odd and told Thor, who decided to follow Loki. We were incredibly fortunate that Thor chose to confront us rather than accuse us with the Allfather, or the council... more so that he agreed to keep the secret of my existence." I took a deep breath before elaborating. "There is a spell on me, Loki placed it the third time we met. It occludes me, hides me from prying eyes, like those of Heimdall and the King of Asgard. No matter how much they look for me, they won't find me, and they don't have a reason to even do that, as they don't know about me!"

"What would happen if they learnt about you?" Jane insisted. "If they'd found out about you at any point during the last eight years?"

"Best-case scenario? I would lose all memory I have related to Loki." I deadpanned.

"But that's insane!" Darcy blurted out. "All those years of memories..."

The two women turned sharply to look at Thor, their eyes demanding he deny what I'd just said, but he didn't, he couldn't, and he knew it.

"What you need to understand is that as wonderful as some Asgardians might be, like Thor and Loki, to most of them we humans are... nothing." I shrugged almost carelessly. "They see us as lesser beings. Because we don't live as long as they do, because we don't have the technology, magic, science, power, they do..." I shook my head. "To them, going into our heads and ripping a few years worth of memories would be next to nothing..."

"That's why you sounded so hesitant when I called..." Jane understood abruptly. "No one was supposed to know about you, and suddenly there I am, calling your number, babbling about nothing and everything, and calling you by a name that's only used by a man who wasn't even supposed to be in this world. You must have been shocked... scared."

"I was terrified." I admitted freely. "Not exactly because of your call, but because I knew that Thor would only do something like that if the need was dire. I gave him my number precisely in case of an emergency." I sighed. "I was terrified, still am; because something is happening to my beloved and neither of us is there to help him..."

That marked the end to our tangential talk; we went back to offering and scrapping plans, which we continued doing for the rest of the day. Selvig left at some point, apparently he was there for the science, not the magic; also, the risk of ending up as collateral damage if something happened didn't exactly push him into wanting to stay.

He tried to convince Jane and Darcy to leave with him, but they refused, declaring themselves to be too invested already. Jane especially. I knew it then, she loved Thor, truly, I wondered how that would turn out. While Loki and I were the proof that it was possible for people of different realms to love one another, the technically-illegal status of our union also showed that it wasn't easy, and no amount of love was guarantee that others wouldn't try (and succeed) to interfere, to ruin things for us.

When night came I fell asleep in the sofa, the gals offered me the bed, as a guest, but I was small enough to fit in the sofa. Jane and Darcy shared the bed, while Thor slept on the floor. None of us saw Selvig again that night.

**xXx**

The next morning was perhaps the oddest I'd ever been through in my life. I got dressed in some of the most comfortable clothes I had with me: light-blue jeans, a white thin-strapped top, a short-sleeved translucent blouse with blue flowers printed and white flats.

Since I didn't like eggs, or coffee, but I didn't want to impose on my hostess, I decided the easiest way of handling things was to offer help. I ended up making some french toast and chocolate-milk (I had a small jar of powdered cocoa in my bag, one thing I carried whenever I traveled, as most B&Bs did not offer chocolate as a breakfast-drink, and it was my favorite).

At some point during breakfast I felt something like a rush of energy running beneath my skin; like a sort of warning of power, and magic. Thor, in his mortal condition, couldn't sense it, and he didn't notice when I stiffened briefly; since I had no idea what the feeling meant exactly, I chose not to say a word about it.

I knew we still needed to make plans, especially since even after talking practically all day the previous day we'd been unable to reach any kind of actual plan; but I was tired. The whole situation was stressing me out greatly, so I decided to step out, go for a walk. I informed Darcy quietly of my intentions and then left, only half hearing Selvig (who had met us for breakfast that morning) trying to explain to Jane that the scientific community was unlikely to ever accept her discoveries about other realms.

I walked for a while, eventually finding myself in what I guessed must be outskirts of town, for there was no one nearby. I sat on an old-looking fence, pulled my black-jade flute out of the cloth bag that was, as always, on my shoulder, and began playing a random tune. It was something I did when I was nervous, I either played something on my flute, or sang; but since singing tended to draw more attention to myself than just playing an instrument, I chose the flute.

I didn't know how much time I spent like that when, abruptly, I felt once again the rush of power beneath my skin; somewhat harsher than the first time. I reacted instinctively, turning in the direction I could sense the echo of power coming from. I saw the sky darkening, a flash of light hitting the sandy ground, creating a pillar of dust and wind.

For a few seconds nothing else happened. I could see the impact site clearing up, but was too far away and at a wrong angle to properly see what may be going on... until the explosion happened. There was no way I couldn't have seen that. It sent me running. Even if I didn't actually know what was going on, I knew it was bad, and that was enough.

As I began seeing people once again it occurred to me that I needed to get them away, if whatever had caused that explosion was moving towards us (and I didn't think it was a coincidence, it had to be connected to Thor somehow...) then the civilians were at risk.

At first no one took me seriously. Probably thought I was too young to be giving anyone orders, especially when I was telling them to drop whatever they were doing and leave... then the first explosion shook the town and a scream was heard... everyone started running then. A few people actually tried to get me to run with them, but I refused, instead moving in the opposite direction, towards the center of the town, to where I knew Thor, Jane and the others to be.

I was running down an empty street when I first caught site of what was causing the terrible destruction. A huge robot-like creature I could identify from the stories Loki had told me of his youth, the final guardian of Odin's Weapon's Vault: the Destroyer. What the hell was a being such as that doing on Earth?! Only the King was supposed to be able to command it, and according to what Thor had shown me, Loki was King so... what had happened?! I was not an idiot, or a fool, I could connect the dots. The logical answer to my question was that Loki had sent the Destroyer, but why? Loki wasn't the kind who murdered his own brother? As annoying as Thor might be at times, and as upset as my love might get with him sometimes, I knew how much my match truly loved the thunderer... so what had happened?!

I was so lost in my pondering it took several seconds for me to notice the two people running in my direction, a woman and a child, probably mother and son. They were trying to outrun the destruction and mayhem. An instant later I noticed the Destroyer shooting some kind of beem from its helm, it was enough to completely obliterate a building on a corner, the debris falling haphazardly all around; and one piece was about to fall over the mother and child...

I didn't think, I just reacted, running the few feet separating me from the two, with great effort (and probably a rush of adrenaline) I managed to half-pick-up, half-drag the boy, while at the same time push the mother before dropping with them behind a car.

For a second I could hear nothing but their screams. A second passed, then two, three... it took almost fifteen seconds for my brain to process that we were alright. The huge pieces of debris had hit the vehicle hard enough to half-destroy it, and other pieces had fallen all around us but, somehow, all three of us were unharmed...

"Thank you..." The mother said quietly, hugging the son against her chest.

I just nodded, still trying to process how lucky we had been, or maybe not... I couldn't help but rub the magical tattoo of the claddagh at the base of my left hand's ring finger.

After a few more seconds to recover our breathing the mother got on her feet, taking a second more to make sure we wouldn't be shot at, then she was running away, the boy in her arms. She didn't even try to ask me to go with her, I think a part of her knew I would refuse. Or maybe her priorities were just stronger. It didn't matter in the end.

I rounded the corner in time to see what had stalled the explosions for a little while: apparently the Destroyer had been distracted, by four people in what could only be Asgardian clothing. I did not need much time to guess who they were: Lady Sif and the Warriors Three... if the Destroyer explained the second rush of power I had felt, those four explained the first.

Still, they just weren't enough, as was proven the moment they were all thrown harshly around by the magical sentinel.

I walked down the main street, with little care for my personal safety though I didn't actually put myself in the way of danger. Something told me I would be safe, I had Loki's magic on my side, after all (even if I knew not how).

In the aftermath of the biggest explosion yet I approached the two closest to me. The raven-haired warrior-lady I imagined had to be Sif sounded almost delirious as she spoke to Thor.

"I will die a warrior's death." She stated in a tone that sounded way too-close to the conditioning I had seen in some war-movies. "Stories will be told of this day."

"There is no honor in a warrior throwing their life away." The words were out of my mouth before I was fully conscious of it.

Both Asgardians started, they obviously hadn't heard me approaching.

"Deifiúr!" Thor cried out in a mix of panic and relief. "You're here..."

"I'm here." I nodded. "Sorry if I worried you but I was on the other side of town..."

"You should have run..." He began.

"Says the one who's sitting here while a mammoth-sized magical sentinel is shooting death-rays all over the place..." I retorted sarcastically.

"Don't talk like that to the Prince of Asgard!" Sif chastised me, or at least try.

I couldn't help it, I rolled my eyes.

It looked like Sif was about to say something, until she suddenly closed her mouth with an almost audible snap, I could see the shift in her eyes the moment she recognized me.

"You...!" She cried out in shock.

"Me..." I drawled in return.

"You but..." She was beyond shocked by that point. "But this isn't possible...!"

Her rant was interrupted when Thor took hold of both of us, pushing us into a nearby alley to protect us from the next attack from the Destroyer, which blew up the car we'd been standing beside as we talked.

"Thank you..." I told him with a quiet nod.

Sif, rather than focus on that, returned her attention to me, and then to Thor.

"You said she was nothing!" She practically hissed at him.

"I never..." Thor obviously wasn't expecting the accusation.

"I think his exact words were 'nothing to worry about'." I clarified, remembering one of the many memories my love had shared with me. "And I'm not, really."

"You know things you shouldn't." Sif accused.

"At this point that should be the least of your worries." I deadpanned.

"Loki needs to be stopped." Sif growled.

I rolled my eyes again, and suddenly an idea jumped to the forefront of my mind. Thor must have noticed something either in my expression or my stance, for he questioned me immediately.

"You have a plan... or something?" He inquired.

"Or something." I half-grimaced, knowing he wouldn't like it one bit. "This will either work beautifully... or I'm absolutely insane."

I didn't give him a chance to try and stop me. I ran out of the alley and straight into the path of the metallic monster.

"STOP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, trying to push every hint of power I could feel inside me into my voice.

And, to everyone's absolute shock, the Destroyer actually stopped.

"That's enough Loki..." I said, loud but softening my voice from my earlier scream. "I... I don't know what is going on, but it's enough already. Enough people have been hurt. Please..."

For a few seconds nothing happened and Thor rushed to my side.

"You... you are..." He seemed to be too shocked to even string a sentence together.

"Hey! It worked." I pointed out with a smirk probably reminiscent of my match. "Beautifully... like I told you it would."

"It was also absolutely insane." He turned my words against me.

"Maybe that too." I shrugged.

Something unexpected happened then. It was as if the Destroyer were vibrating, then violently shaking, the helm turned firey yet again to our shock.

"What the he...?!" I refused to believe that Loki was about to attack us, truly!

Sif, who had followed Thor, began pulling him away, but I didn't move from my spot, I was just too shocked... I also refused to believe that my beloved was truly capable of attacking me straight on... he loved me, I knew he did!

"Deirfiúr!" Thor cried out the moment he noticed I hadn't followed.

The Destroyed shot his death-ray once more then, breaking and blackening the sandy ground inches from my feet, yet I remained completely unhurt.

An instant later Thor was back by my side.

"I'm fine..." I mumbled half-absent-minded to him.

"You're beyond insane, sister!" Thor hissed at me.

I didn't pay attention to his recrimination, all my attention focused on the out-of-control Destroyer... I understood it then.

"He's lost control." I whispered, barely loud enough to be heard.

"What...?" Thor either didn't hear, or refused to register my words.

"Loki has lost control of the Destroyer." I clarified.

"Is that even possible?" He asked.

"Only the King can control it... and if he doesn't fully believe himself to be the rightful King..." I didn't finish the sentence, I didn't need to.

And really, my beloved's full understanding and acceptance of Thor as the true heir to the throne of Asgard was going to ruin everything?!

"Loki is trying to kill us all!" The blonde Warrior I guessed had to be Fandral cried out as he approached us with the others.

"He's not in control anymore." Thor shook his head.

"What makes you so sure?" Hogun inquired, curious.

"He would never hurt us." Thor answered confidently.

"Thor, I know you always want to believe the best of your brother, but everything Loki has done in the last week..." Volstagg, injured as he was, began hesitantly.

"My brother loves me, I'm sure of that." He insisted. "Despite the misguided actions his unorthodox approach and good intentions might have driven him to in the last few days... also, he would never hurt her!"

"Her?!" It was then that all three men noticed me.

"A child?!" Fandral and Volstagg cried at once.

"I am no child..." I hissed back at them, standing to my full (if limited) height. "I am Nightingale, Loki's match and consort!"

The shock was such they didn't dare say a word.

"If we could focus back on what we must..." Sif muttered coldly.

She didn't like me, that much was obvious. I knew it was connected to her dislike for Loki. I also knew she had feelings for Thor and couldn't help but wonder how she would react to Jane and the obvious connection she and Thor shared... Still, she was right on one thing, we needed to focus on stopping the Destroyer before any lives were lost.

"Thor, you are the only one who has any hope at stopping it." I pointed out the obvious.

"That's impossible sister, I have no power." Thor reminded me unnecessarily. "I am but a mortal man right now..."

"Right now." I emphasized. "Doesn't mean that's what you are going to be for the rest of your existence." I took a breath and tried to explain as fast as I could. "Thor, you are an Odinson, the heir to the throne of Asgard. If Loki doesn't believe in himself enough to control the Destroyer, then it's up to you. It's true you have no power right now, but it doesn't have to stay like this. You can recover that power."

"Loki refused to do it." Fandral offered from a side.

"Because it's not up to him." I rolled my eyes, returning my attention to my brother. "I've seen what the Allfather did, how he took your power from you, that kind of magic... only you can undo it Thor. Only you can claim back what is rightfully yours."

"What do I do?" He was willing to believe me, either that or he just didn't have a better plan.

"Believe." I told him simply. "Believe that the power is yours and above all, that you deserve it. That's the bottom line. Believe... have faith..."

There had been more explosions during our conversation, I knew that. Thor's friends had also noticed that, as out of control as the Destroyer seemed to be, it also seemed to somehow be incapable of firing at me, something they took advantage of, staying close to where I stood. It was the only reason we'd been able to talk as long as we did. Still, it wasn't like we could just leave the thing to destroy the whole town! Spirits knew what it would do after Puente Antiguo was no more! And what about the people who had ran into the desert to protect themselves? We couldn't just stand back and allowed them to lose it all.

"It's up to you Thor." I insisted. "Believe..."

At first nothing happened. It seemed that Thor's acceptance that he wasn't yet ready to be King was somehow blocking him from reclaiming his birthright, or that's why I imagined. I could sense the struggle of power around him, and in him, as if he were calling on it with one hand, while with the other he kept pushing it away. It was somewhat annoying.

And then, the unexpected: a female cry pierced the sky: it was Jane.

"Jane!" Darcy and Selvig cried out at the same time.

We all turned right in time to see Jane on the ground, she was unable to move due to the ruins of a building, a blown up car and pieces of debris, which were pretty much blocking her on three sides, while on the other the Destroyer was approaching her.

Things then happened so fast I felt them more than actually saw them; and when it was all over I could barely keep myself from rolling my eyes: my love would say that in the end, as always, it came down to a woman...

For the instant it registered into Thor's mind that Jane was in danger, he stopped hesitating and second-guessing himself; he simply jumped straight into the situation. A handful of seconds later, when what looked like a tornado of sand and wind settled once again we could all see Thor standing in the epicenter of the 'storm' (figuratively and literally), with one arm he was holding Jane protectively against his body, while his opposite hand was held high, Mjolnir sparkling with remnants of thunder on it. The God of Thunder was back.

The Destroyer didn't last long after that.

It was extremely funny (to me) to watch Thor's flabbergasted expression the moment Jane, after assuring herself the battle was over, grabbed hold of my brother's armor to pull him to her, crashing their lips together rather forcefully. He recovered in a relatively short time, answering to the kiss with passion enough to sweep any woman off her feet (except for me, as I was already taken... and Sif, who could only wish she was in Jane's place).

I could see the tension in the raven-haired's tension and decided it just might be a good idea to try and stop a potentially bad situation before it festered.

"I wouldn't interfere if I were you..." I whispered, placing a hand on the warrior's arm.

She shook my hand away, directing the coldest glare she could muster to me.

"Don't talk to me..." She hissed.

"Why?" I retorted quietly. "Because I'm a lowly mortal?" I snorted. "I'm just trying to stop you from making a fool of yourself. Or do you think Thor would really appreciate you interfering?"

"Like you're one to talk." Sif snapped, barely holding herself back. "You should have never been allowed to get so involved..."

"It wasn't up to you." I reminded her. "My connection to Loki is none of your business. Just like the connection between Thor and Jane isn't either."

"You cannot tell me you wouldn't do something if she were trying that with Loki instead." The Warrior-lady tried next.

"Of course." I snorted again. "But there is a monumental difference between those two situations. I don't know if you've missed this despite the fact that I've mentioned it several times now, but I am actually married to Loki now. In other words, I have a claim to him, you have no such claim on Thor... and you need to realize you never will." I knew it wasn't kind, but the point needed to be driven home before something happened we all would regret. "You need to accept that Thor has made his choice, Sif, and it isn't you."

"You don't know that..." She began, in absolute denial.

"Oh, but I do..." I admitted. "I can see it."

And I could, I could see the bonds forming between Thor and Jane. Granted, they were still thin, somewhat fragile, but so had been the ones I shared with Loki at the start. If allowed the time to grow and given the right motivation, Thor and Jane would one day become inseparable, I knew that as surely as I knew the strength of my own bond to my match.

Eventually, between the Warrior Three's catcalls and his own notion of the situation we were all in Thor forced himself to break the kiss with Jane.

"We must go to the Bifrost site." He announced to his friends seriously. "I would have words with my brother."

"I'm going with you." I announced, and it was a statement, not a question.

"Deirfiúr..." He began, unsure. "Your secret..."

"Is pretty much pointless at this point." I told him with a shrug. "Way more people know about me right now than Loki or I ever intended. And it's not like after what just happened I can go back home and pretend this never happened, your friends would never allow it, nor would I." I shook my head, steeling myself for what was to come. "When I took those vows last week, I meant them Thor. Loki is my match, and I shall stand by him, no matter what."

"You believe you can still save him..." Fandral seemed surprised by that.

"I will never stop believing that." I answered without a doubt. "Because the moment I stop believing in love, stop having hope in him, in us... my existence becomes pointless."

It probably sounded a tad too dramatic, but that didn't make it any less true...

And then, right as we were all preparing ourselves mentally, the government just had to drop in and complicate an already delicate matter further...

"Excuse me!" A brunette man in a navy suit called loudly as he approached. "Donald? I don't think you've been completely honest with me."

I couldn't help the snort of laughter at the name, I imagined someone in the group had gotten Thor a fake ID, but the name just didn't fit him... not like Luka's which, in my opinion, was quite poetic for everything it showed and didn't at the same time...

"Know this, Son of Coul." Thor told the man seriously. "You and I, we fight for the same cause, the protection of this world. From this day forward, you can count me as your ally if you return the items you have taken from Jane."

That last detail caught my attention. Thor and Jane had told me what had happened in the four days Thor had been in Puente Antiguo before they'd phoned me. It rubbed me wrong that the government would stoop to stealing a young scientist's life-long work, simply because they didn't want her to be going down that road.

"Stolen." Jane pointed out almost snarkily.

"Borrowed." The Agent corrected passively. "Of course, you can have your equipment back. You're gonna need it to continue your research..."

Seeing as, like I'd mentioned myself, already a considerable number of people knew about me, I didn't see the point in trying to hide myself from the government... it's not like them knowing would change anything, like they would be able to stop me...

"And would she be truly continuing her research or just dancing around to your tune as you kept her work in secret because of your idea of the 'greater good'?" I called sarcastically.

Instantly the attention of every single person, including the half-dozen or so agents that were following the 'Son of Coul' turned in my direction. The Head Agent looked me up and down carefully, as if studying me... while his second steppe forward in a challenging matter.

"And who might you be, little girl?" He asked in the most condescending tone.

Thor grumbled lowly, obviously feeling affronted by the insult; however, Jane's hand on his arm calmed him, at least temporarily; a look in my direction was enough for them to confirm what at least Jane must have suspected already: I fought my own battles: verbal or physical.

"I have no idea who you are, but if your attitude is an example of how the people in your organization treat others then it's been extremely disappointing meeting you." I told him in a low but commanding tone (I'd learnt from the best... my aunt Kathryn). "I am not a little girl and I resent the condescension in your tone, as you have no right to address me in such a way." A sharp glare seemed to be enough to stop him from interrupting before I went on. "My name is Silbhé Arianna Kinross Salani-Hveðrungr..."

"The professor in European Mythology and Folklore, History and Literature..." The Son of Coul finished in sudden understanding.

My eyes narrowed in his direction.

"The first reports from linguistics concerning the odd markings on the sand a few miles from here came in just yesterday, runic, either Norse or Gaelic." The Agent elaborated. "Your name was as the top of the list of possible consultants in this matter."

"But she's just a child." His SIC blurted out in disbelief.

"And according to records, the best in every single specialty she studied." His boss pointed out. "She's also the only one to possess that particular mix of specialties, not to mention the languages... all in all, the ideal consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D." His eyes narrowed as he took in the individuals around me. "Though none of that explains your presence here, professor?"

"I'm sure with everything you seem to already know about me you must have a pretty decent guess." I offered with a mischievous smile."

"Possibly." He admitted with a small shrug. "Though I cannot see how you could possibly have been involved with anything before today."

"What happened in the last few days... it's not the first time an Asgardian drops in for a visit." I answered honestly. "Though, to be perfectly honest. Most of the visits are nothing like this..."

"She gave three surnames..." A female agent called suddenly from behind.

"What?" Everyone was confused.

"The young woman introduced herself as Silbhé Arianna Kinross Salani-Hveðrungr." The Agent clarified. "While she does appear in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records, her last surname does not, not in connection to her, at least."

"Who then?" Another inquired.

"Dr. Luka Hveðrungr..." She replied promptly.

"My husband." I clarified.

And that was enough to remind all of us of how delicate the situation was. Regardless of the fun we might get playing games of words with government agents, there was a person who needed us, and I would be damned if I didn't get to him in time.

"Deartháir!" I unconsciously reverted to Irish as I called for Thor.

"We must take our leave now." Thor announced, his mind catching up with mine without any need for further words.

"I understand." Jane nodded, smiling at him.

"Would you like to see the bridge we spoke of?" Thor offered unexpectedly.

"Sure." There was no hesitation in Jane as she answered.

They were gone before the government agents could even begin complaining.

"My lady?" Fandral called from my side.

He knew I was going with them, and we needed to be on our way as well. Asgard needed them, but most importantly, Loki needed us... needed me.

**xXx**

In the end Darcy drove the rest of us in the van. On the way there I decided to be of some help and handed the Warriors Three a crystal vial filled with powdered healing stone. It was just what Volstagg needed to be back in top shape. Of course, when they learnt who exactly had created the vials for me they were left speechless.

We finally arrived to the right spot to find Thor calling to Heimdall with no visible result. And an instinct inside told me Loki was responsible for that too...

While we waited I approached Darcy:

"Could I possibly ask a favor of you?" I inquired softly.

"What is it?" She asked, curious.

"If anything happens and I don't come back..." I began.

"You think you're going to die!" She half-yelled.

"No!" I only half-lied. "There are other reasons besides death that could complicate my return..."

"You know, the more you talk to Thor, the more you sound like him, with your elaborate phrases and old-style words." Darcy commented suddenly. "You didn't sound like this when your first arrived here..."

"It's instinctive." I shrugged. "I know that most people here on Earth wouldn't fully understand it if I spoke in such a manner all the time; however, I've grown used to listening to Loki and even Thor when they do, and they bring it out in me. Having majored in Literature and History helps as well with the vocabulary and old-style you have referred to."

Darcy shook her head with a slight smile.

"You mentioned a favor." She reminded me.

"Right, if for whatever the reason I am unable to return, or even if I take too long, it's likely my aunt will come looking for me." I informed her. "Her name is Kathryn Salani, she's my closest family. She knows I came here, and the basics of why..."

"She knows about... well, everything?" Darcy was shocked by that.

"Only the very basics." I let out a breath. "As it turns out, one cannot be dying of cancer one day and then perfectly healthy just a handful of days later without at least someone noticing that there is something going on... Aunt Kathryn didn't bring the matter up with me in all these years but she knew there was something... Then, when I told her I was taking a plane to New Mexico..." I shrugged. "She was aware of the same rumors of something odd happening around here. She told me once that if she'd learnt something in her years working for the government it was that there's more in the world and the universe as a whole, than any of us will ever know... She doesn't know anything for sure, but knows enough. I just hope that if she comes looking and I'm not here you might be able to tell her the rest."

"Is that a good idea?" She probably remembered what I mentioned were the consequences of knowing certain things.

"She will allow for nothing less." I pointed out. "Besides, with an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D., I believe the Allfather will be forced to compromise from his usually stoic stance..."

Or at least I hoped.

Before we could go more into that I began feeling the power beneath my skin; we all heard it a moment later, a path opening through the skies... it was time to go.

"I promise." Darcy announced right then.

"Thank you." I nodded, rushing to stand in the circle.

Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three gathered almost protectively around me. It was obvious that with me having never traveled through the Bifrost I would probably need some help. Still, nothing would have been able to make me stay behind.

It felt almost like falling, except we were going up instead of down, and it's quite probable that if it hadn't been for Thor's steadying arm around my back, as well as Fandral's and Sif's guarding presences at my sides I would have gone crazy not knowing where I was.

The trip felt like it lasted an eternity, and no time at all. It was dizzying, especially when suddenly there was something beneath our feet once again, I actually stumbled a number of steps, would have ended up sprawled on the shiny floor hadn't it been for the others around me.

"Heimdall!" Sif's worried voice brought me out of my musings.

I saw the dark-skinned man in the golden armor, laying by the side of the dais that held a sword, or a staff... the tool used to open the Bifrost, which Fandral and Hogun took out immediately. I realized then the man was Heimdall, the Gatekeeper. A corner of my mind reminded me also that, according to Norse mythology, he and Sif were supposed to be siblings... They looked nothing alike in my eyes, so either that was yet another thing mythology had gotten wrong, or something else... I didn't actually care enough to ask about it.

"Lady Nightingale..." Hogun called from the fallen man's side. "Can you help him, like you helped Volstagg before?"

"I can." I answered automatically.

I was reaching into the cloth bag on my waist even before getting close enough to actually see the man. A quick cursory look told me that there were no visible wounds, which Sif confirmed with her next words:

"Healing powder won't help him." She stated.

"Good thing I have more than that." I quipped, offering her a bigger vial, with clear liquid.

"What's this?" Sif inquired, even as she took the offered vial.

"Healing elixir." I answered. "In simple terms it's powdered healing stone, mixed with the purest water from Midgard. It's good for internal injuries and such..."

That was enough for Sif, who immediately got Heimdall to drink the elixir.

In seconds it was already taking effect.

"I can't see you..." Were the first words the Guardian directed at me. "Why can I not see you?"

"I am enveloped by an occluding spell, courtesy of Loki." I answered directly, willing the cuff-bracelet on my wrist to be seen.

Only Thor knew the true significance of the deamarkonian; even though we'd shared the basics of how Loki had saved me with Jane, Darcy and Selvig, I hadn't shown them the bracelet. With Heimdall it was the opposite, he did not know the real meaning of the object, but he could see Loki's rune engraved on it, and that would be enough to notice there was, in fact, a connection between the two of us.

"The traitor..." Heimdall murmured, watching me carefully.

I couldn't help it, I rolled my eyes.

"He tried to kill me." The Gatekeeper insisted.

"If Loki wanted you dead, you would be dead, period." I deadpanned.

"Deirfiúr!" Thor called right then. "We must get going!"

I didn't even reply, instead pushing myself back onto my feet and rushing to my brother's side. The moment I set foot out of the observatory my whole body trembled, I could sense the turmoil inside my beloved, the waves of his power, the anxiety, the insanity, washing over me, like waves crashing against a cliffside. There was enough power there to take me under, to make me drown, and yet, somehow, I felt anchored. The power rushed all around me, over me, even through me, yet I remained firmly in place. And after a handful of seconds I realized why that was: my bonds to Loki, the ones that had begun when he'd clasped the deamarkonian around our wrists and sealed when we pronounced our wedding vows the previous week. Loki was my anchor, the waves of his power would never hurt me, because they were a part of me as much as they were of him, we were but a part of each other...

"We must hurry..." I told Thor as I took the hand he was offering me.

"Are you alright?" He inquired, probably having noticed my trembling.

"For now, but we don't have much time left..." I admitted as I allowed him to pull me tight against him. "Loki is already standing on the edge of a knife..."

"We will save him, sister..." He assured me.

With a spin of Mjolnir, we were flying.

In many ways that method of travel was worse than the Bifrost, but I was so fixed upon Loki, reaching him, saving him, that I didn't allow the discomfort to stop me.

We made it to the palace in record time. Once there it was quite easy to know where to go, the trace of ice, damage walls and floors was rather telling. We'd just reached the remains of a shattered door, ice still covering the archway, when I became aware of voices on the inside. Thor was about to throw himself inside, ready for battle, but I managed to react just in time, pulling him with me to stand beside the bedroom entrance, just out-of-sight.

"What...?" He began to demand.

"Just shut up and listen." I whispered harshly to him.

He didn't like it, but did as he was told. In the last moment I had an idea and brought a hand-held mirror out of my bag. It wasn't very big, but enough to see a cobalt-skinned humanoid creature kneeling above the unconscious Allfather in a threatening manner. Thor didn't react immediately, shocked as he was by the sight. And then we heard what he was saying:

"It is said you can still hear and see what transpires around you." It/he hissed dangerously. "I hope that's true, so that you may know your death came by the hand of Laufey..."

I barely managed to react in time, taking hold on Thor's arm before he could move; and it was probably only thanks to his shock that that was enough to stop him, at least temporarily. To make things better, what happened next justified my hope, my faith...

A flash of golden energy hit the one who apparently was named Laufey, the King of the Jotun from what Loki had told me once, on a side, throwing him off the Allfather with enough force the Jotun hit the wall and crumbled on the floor, injured.

Thor and I were by then both equally shocked by the turn in events, until a voice clarified what exactly what just happened.

"And your death came by the son of Odin..." It was my match!

Laufey didn't have any chance to do more than gasp and stare at the other side of the sleeping chambers (probably at Loki, though I didn't have the right angle to see that); the next beam of golden energy was enough to vaporize him completely.

Next in the mirror we saw the Queen rise from the floor, looking worried but unhurt, she went to hug Loki effusively, right as he finally moved enough across the room that Thor and I could see the reflection in the mirror.

"Loki!" The Queen cried out brightly. "You saved him!"

Then, before I had the chance to try to stop him again, or say a single word, Thor walked past me to stand in the broken doorway.

"That you did, brother..." He said to announce his presence.

Loki tensed instantly, looking at the blonde cautiously.

"Thor!" Lady Frigg cried out happily, rushing to embrace her other son with the same emotion she'd shown the younger one. "I knew you'd return to us."

Thor embraced her back briefly before moving past her to face his brother.

"Have you returned to your senses now, brother?" He inquired directly.

My love obviously did not know how to reply to that, he just kept staring at Thor with obvious distrust and what seemed like a hint of fear. Did he believe Thor would turn against him?

"Answer me brother." Thor insisted as he approached Loki purposefully. "Have you returned to your senses, or are you still raging against me and my friends for whatever the reason?"

"Your friends are nothing but traitors!" Loki hissed defensively.

"Perhaps from a certain point of view." Thor admitted with apparent aloofness. "But that's neither here nor there."

"Why? Because I'm not as worthy of their obedience, their loyalty, as you are?" Loki demanded.

"It's not a matter of obedience, they're supposed to be your friends Loki!" Thor retorted.

"Yours!" Loki almost snarled back. "Your friends, Odinson, never mine."

"Why do you use father's name as if it were a curse, you're as much an Odinson as I am."

"Ah... but that's the thing... I'm not..."

The shock was such Thor didn't seem to know what to say, even I was frozen into place. Frigg's gasp almost immediately after that was enough confirmation that Loki had said the truth. In an instant my mind began working overtime, as I mentally brought up every memory of the myth surrounding Loki, all the things that he and I had once discarded, considering them mistakes the humans had made when creating their myths (they were so many of them, like Sigyn, Sleipnir's origins, all of Loki's supposed to kids except Hel...). Except in that moment it seemed that some of those supposed mistakes might have been closer to the truth than we ever expected...

"I am Laufeyson..." Loki hissed, voice full of venom.

Before any denial could be voiced, my beloved confirmed his revelation by allowing his own skin to shift, until its color matched that of the Jotun he'd just obliterated almost completely... Laufey. Loki had killed Laufey! My love had just killed his own birthfather! And he'd obviously known just who the Frost Giant was... just what the hell had been happening in the so-called Realm Eternal in the last six days?!

"What kind of lie is this?" Thor demanded, refusing to believe it. "What trick?!"

"You're one to talk about tricks, Thor..." Loki's voice kept throwing venom in his anger. "What about the cowardly trick you hid behind back in Midgard? To keep the Destroyer from killing you and those back-stabbing bastards you call your friends?!"

"That was no trick brother." Thor replied honestly.

"It was a trick." Loki insisted, insanity beginning to creep in. "It has to be! There's is no way, no possible way that... that she... she couldn't... she wouldn't..."

"What? Interfere? Want to help?" Thor guessed. "You know better than that brother. You know as well as I that she's both capable and quite willing to do both. All that was needed was a call to that number she gave me for emergencies..."

"There's no way..." My love was so deeply in denial it hurt almost physically.

"Are you sure?" Thor challenged. "Then let me prove it to you..."

Loki realized what was coming a second before Thor made the call, his eyes widened drastically and he froze in absolute shock, his lips mouthing the word 'no', though no sound came out...

"Lady Nightingale..." Thor finished his phrase right then.

I knew it was absolute insane, beyond that even. Thor's plan of calling me out could go horribly wrong, but I hurt so much just by seeing the state my love was in, there was no way I could have remained hiding much longer anyway.

So, with that in mind, I turned the corner, to stand in the center of the smashed doorway.

"Maverick..." I whispered softly.

His response was so quiet, so hesitant, so broken, I felt as if my heart shattered into pieces at the mere sound of it...

"N-Nightingale...?"

The Queen spun around instantly, staring at me in shock.

"You're the Lady Nightingale?" She asked, obviously not quite believing it.

"I am." I nodded confidently. "I am Nightingale... I am Loki's match and consort..."

The silence that followed that declaration was deafening.

Slowly, almost painfully slow, Loki crossed the bedchamber until he was standing right in front of me, he extended a hand as if to touch my face, stopping just half an inch away from my skin, I could feel the energy still. I reacted instinctively, using my own hand to press his palm against my face, turning then my cheek into the touch.

"It's you..." Loki whispered after what seemed like an eternity. "It really is you..."

"It is..." I whispered back, placing a kiss on his pulse-point. "I'm here... just like I was on Puente Antiguo earlier, when the Destroyer appeared..."

I could hear a gasp of shock and realized the Queen hadn't caught on about the Destroyer... at least Thor moved in time and stopped her from interrupting us; the last thing I needed was for Loki to do a 180... again. I had no idea if his heritage was the only reason he'd been dancing on the edge of sanity or if there was something else, but it was obvious we would need to be very careful until we knew for sure and could convince him that things would be alright.

Loki moaned, dropping abruptly to his knees. I was short enough that even with that move I managed to keep his hand against my cheek, anchoring him, and myself.

"You could have died..." He groaned in horror and self-loathing. "I could have killed you."

"No, you couldn't have." I declared confidently. "And don't try to tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. Your magic protected me from any stray attacks, and when I actually stood before that thing, it stopped, it wouldn't attack me, just like you wouldn't..."

"You have too much faith in me..." He declared with a tired sigh.

"No more than the one you have on me." I replied promptly.

"You are so pure, my Nightingale, the purest creature I've ever known, how could I not put all the faith I'm capable of on you?" He asked dramatically. "Me on the other side... I'm the worst kind of monster in the universe!"

I could hear both Thor's and Frigg's whispered denials, though I doubted Loki could, he had all his attention on me, as I were his lifeline, as if his very existence depended on me, on my actions and words... it was a heavy burden to bear, but I wasn't about to disappoint.

"But I am a monster!" Loki almost snarled, somehow still not pulling away from me, as if a part of him refused to break our bond. "Just look at me!"

"I am..." I told him softly, raising my other hand to touch his face.

It was until that point that he noticed his skin had shifted from the Jotun blue back to the Aesir alabaster... it had the moment I'd touched him, and he hadn't realized it. I had, in a corner of my mind, but since it made no difference to me it wasn't something I focused on.

"You are no monster." I insisted, shifting to hold his face lovingly with both of my hands. "You are Loki, Luka Hveðrungr, my Maverick, the man I love most in the universe, and who I shall love with all I am, in this life and the next, for as long as my soul may exist in this universe. You are my match, my consort, my husband, and nothing else matters..." My chin rested over his head, with his face nestled on my collarbone. "I am here my love, and I will always be here. I promise you. Come what may, I will never leave your side, I swear..."

I could feel the magic making my promise binding, it would extract a heavy price if I ever broke my word after that; but I did not care, in that moment I cared about nothing except the man kneeling before me.

"I have no idea what exactly happened here since we last saw each other that morning... but I know one thing for sure." I added, placing a kiss on his hair. "I love you... always have, always will. Well make that two. The second is that you're not a monster, regardless of the color or temperature of your skin, you could never be a monster, not to me..."

We stayed in that position for what seemed like forever and not time at all... until words from an unexpected source unexpectedly broke the moment:

"And what exactly would you be willing to do for that love, little lady?"

My reaction was instinctive, as I turned while still holding onto Loki, my back to the individual who had just spoken (and I had serious suspicions who that was). Then, after one more kiss to raven black hair I finally let go of my match, straightened up and spun around to face the possible threat to my love, to both of us. The fact that Loki did not protest or try to stop me was telling enough about his emotional and mental state.

One look was enough to confirm my suspicions, the one speaking was none other than Odin Allfather, newly awakened. A wave of his hand changed his sleep-wear into formal Asgardian attire; with one more Gungnir was in his hand, Loki's state making him unworthy of holding it and the throne in that moment.

"Answer me, little lady." He demanded.

"I would do anything for that love, and for Loki." I answered with dead honesty.

He stepped closer then, and there was such power surrounding him, forming an almost visible aura. At some point he got close, too close, my instincts screamed at me to protect my beloved, and so I did. Without even being fully conscious of it, I pulled the last object in my cloth-bag, a crystal dagger (it was my wedding present from Thor), holding it in a backhanded grip as I took a defensive position in front of my love.

"Do you realize who you are threatening, child?" The Allfather inquired condescendingly.

"I know exactly who you are, and you know what? I couldn't care less!" I snapped. "I am no child; and I'm not threatening anyone... but I won't let you hurt my match either."

"You truly believe you can stand up to me, the King of Asgard?" He insisted, trying to intimidate me with words and his mere presence.

"I truly believe I can stand up to anyone who may wish harm upon the one I love." I replied, refusing to give an inch. "God, or mortal, or whatever you might call yourself, I care not. Really, the only title that should matter to you right now is you being his father, but you've never cared much about that, have you?"

That seemed to be enough to make Odin finally snap. Several things happened in barely fractions of a second then: Odin swung Gungnir at me in anger; Frigg cried out in shock; Thor moved to protect me, Mjolnir in hand; but before any of them could reach me I was being held protectively against Loki's chest, one of his arms secured around me while the other was raised, holding everyone else in place.

"Do not even think about hurting my Nightingale..." He hissed straight at Odin. "I will take on whatever you may throw at me, but I will never allow you to hurt her, never!"

"Crimes have been committed." Odin declared angrily. "Crimes you shall both pay for."

The announcement was enough to let me know that whatever was coming couldn't be good and yet, I would never regret standing by my match, never.

* * *

Someone asked me for a story where Thor learnt about Nightingale and things actually went well... this is what came out.

Hope you'll like it. For now it was Nightingale's POV, but we'll switch around next chapter.

And talking about next chapter: Odin's choice of punishment, Thor's reaction, and the passage of time... Change is coming, but until then, some people might need to rethink what exactly it is that _defines_ them.

As always, updates are every other week. And also as always, full-sized poster and set of wallpapers can be found in my DA account.

If you like Agents of SHIELD, and Skye-centric fics don't forget to read my Menel series please!


	2. Define

Some things from Agents of SHIELD and Iron-Man 3 will come up here (mostly the former), some of the events will be different, or at least in a different order than in canon, that's part of this AU. Also, regardless of the time passed, Thor 2 and Captain America 2 have no bearing in this.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Define **

Is a Nightingale still such without its voice? Is a Sorcerer still one without their magic?

**xXx Darcy's POV xXx**

It was late afternoon already, almost the end of the work-day. I was standing on a corner of what had been dubbed by some the 'fairytale class', watching two of my dearest friends work. A man known by most as Dr. Luka Hveðrungr was at the front of the class, giving the closing speech on that day's topic: the last inter-dimensional war to affect Earth. Behind the teacher's desk sat Prof. Silbhé Salani-Hveðrungr, she'd just finished grading the papers for that day and was absent-mindedly moving along the power-point presentation that illustrated the day's topic.

The class ended a handful of minutes later, and the 'students' left right away, none of them the slightest bit interest on staying behind for anything. It wasn't that surprising, really. It was ironic, but all of us who knew just how important the 'class' was, also realized that everyone else saw it as ridiculous, unnecessary, a joke... of course, the ones who actually knew the importance of it all, had been there when the 'events' took place, therefore had no need for the class. It was a vicious cycle, for the most part.

The Hveðrungrs had been working for S.H.I.E.L.D. for five years as had I, for that matter. We had all joined after a certain mess on Puente Antiguo, New Mexico.

My name is Darcy Lewis, and truth be said, I should have never been anywhere near the mess but, well, things happen for a reason I guess. Finished High-School at eighteen, I began drifting, changing majors every year for a while, until I finally settled on Politics. It wasn't what I really wanted, but I had no idea what I wanted... and things turned out pretty well for me, even with all the mess, so... At twenty-five I had finally finished all my courses, except for one. How I never noticed I needed six science credits to finish college I will never know! As it happened there was no one class that offered that many credits, same for all the internships I found... except for one: an astrophysicist in New Mexico was offering the exact number of credits I needed. In the end she chose me (probably because I was the only applicant).

At first it was easy enough. I knew next to nothing about the science she worked on (aside from Politics I studied History, Art, Administration, some Business and Linguistics -all of them just for a semester or two each-). Still, Dr. Jane Foster knew enough about her work she didn't really need my help for it, I was more of a babysitter. Making sure she ate, slept, took a shower every so often, and breaks whenever it looked like her mind might implode with too much work.

Then Dr. Erik Selvig, one of Jane's old professors arrived to help her. From what little I could understand, there was something on the weather-patterns that she believed to be extraordinary... and something about galaxies and wormholes, but at that point I was already mostly ignoring them, so I didn't catch much more than that.

So I went from near-graduate (in political sciences) to intern (in science-science), to babysitter-to-a-scientist, to storm-chaser... and that last one was not in my contract! Still, I have to admit the sense of adventure got to me. It was something I'd always wanted to do, to have an adventure, not something I could actually study for (and maybe if I had known all that would happen as a consequence... no, not really, I wouldn't give up my life for anything!).

So we went storm-chasing, and somehow ended up catching more than just a storm. And if anyone had told me that the cute, buffed, seemingly-high-on-something man with the strange speech-patterns was a real-life god... I would have laughed in their faces, loudly. My life wasn't a novel, that sort of thing just didn't happen in real life, right? Well, apparently it does now. Along with a lot of other crazy-ass stuff! All of which I ended having front seat for... whenever I don't end up center-stage, that is!

Anyway. We went storm-chasing, found that odd-guy speaking about being hammered... or maybe he was talking about his hammer? Mj... something, I prefer to just call it Mew-mew. Then, when he got a bit too touchy-feely and threatening, I tased him. Then there was the problem that we had to carry him to the trailer so we could get him to the hospital and... yeah. But still. Then I noticed that tiny little detail in one of the photos we'd taken while storm-chasing, the fact that the blonde hunk had actually, somehow, arrived with the storm.

So we went to get him back, endured all his delusional-ranting about being the god of thunder (which, as it turned out, wasn't actually a delusion). And then all of Jane's research got stolen. And they stole my iPod! Seriously, the one luxury I was able to allow myself with what little money I had from my last part-time job (from the time when I lived in an actual city and had a real job, rather than just free-babysitting passing itself as an internship) and the trust-fund my absentee father had left for me (which is actually how I managed to spend seven years in college without depleting all my savings, or my mother's).

When Thor first told us all his story (though he gave Jane a lot more detail than the rest of us) we didn't fully believe him. Even Jane who was quite willing to believe most of what he said (if only because it would prove her theories... and because she had the hots for him), had an obviously hard time processing the idea of other worlds, and gods, and such. Until he told us there was someone who could corroborate his story, someone human...

I had heard about Silbhé Salani, really, anyone who had so much as taken a class in History, Literature or Mythology in the last five years knew about the prodigy girl who at sixteen had already attained Bachelor Degrees in all three majors and was set to graduate with Masteries, once again in all three, at nineteen. Discovering that she knew Thor, had known him for years... that was more unexpected. A surprise that only grew when we got to hear her story (the short version of it back then), and her connection not only to Thor, but to his brother Loki, and not any connection, she was actually, for all intents and purposes (even if it wasn't actually legal) married to the God of Mischief and Lies!

Shit just got all the more real the next day. What with the addition of the Three Stooges and the Xena-wannabe (whom I later learnt were actually the Warriors Three and the Lady Sif, this last one the goddess of war, no less!). Then, as if those four weren't enough, we got the huge metal monster blowing half the town to kingdom come. It was about then that Thor finally noticed Silbhé's absence and began getting seriously worried about her. I had a feeling that she could take care of herself (and I was right!).

It all became a mess, evacuating the town, hanging back when dear Jane insisted on staying with Thor, only to then have to watch her almost being killed by an out-of-control monster... Destroyer or something like that. I heard Silbhé saying it was out of control, but wasn't fully sure what it all meant. It was strange, with Thor's friends so viciously against Loki, while Silbhé and Thor refused to stop believing in him. I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like, for someone to believe in you, in me that strongly...

Then there was the promise, the one I made to Silbhé, about explaining all the truth to her aunt, Kathryn Salani, if the woman went looking for her and Silbhé failed to return from her trip to Asgard. And I knew that my newest friend wasn't being fully truthful when she denied that she thought she would die on that trip... At least she didn't, and I never had to actually explain anything to Ms. Salani myself. Which... thank God! Because that woman is seriously scary, even more than Agent-iPod-thief with all his blank looks. And considering that he recognized her... really, I just found out that there are other worlds out there, and the next day I cannot help but think that mine is way too small, the chances of Agent just knowing Silbhé's aunt... really, what were the chances of something like that?!

But yes, I never had to explain everything to her. She went straight to the Agents studying the markings left on the sand by the Rainbow bridge Silbhé, Thor and the others had left on, demanding to know what was going on. When they refused, spouting some protocol crap she went ramrod-straight and began reciting something that seemed to have seriously been taken out of some James-Bond movie. To this day I still don't know what it meant exactly, except that it helped to identify her. It revealed that Kathryn Salani wasn't just a nurse and an aunt, she was also a former Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Kathryn Adler, and pretty high up too!

The minion-agents (which was what I called all low level ones which had little to no idea of what had gone down the day before) had just taken her to talk with the real agent (Coulson), and I had convinced Jane to have us tag along with them so we could take a break and eat something, when the Rainbow-bridge-thingy activated again. And isn't just my luck that just when I've finally managed to convince Jane to take a break that happens?!

Maybe it was for the best, especially considering that Thor wasn't among those who had arrived. Silbhé did, though and, surprisingly enough, Loki. She was in a lilac-colored (aptly named) goddess-style dress, with white-gold slippers, a long pearly-white sash around her tiny waist, and an iridescent scarf tied around her neck; Loki was wearing a green-silk and black-leather ensemble that consisted of a multi-layered tunic, breeches, high boots, arm-guards, along with light golden armor and a long green cape (much like Thor's red one).

Coulson and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. minions reacted instantly the moment the twosome arrived, and all through it Silbhé refused to talk, Loki refused to give much explanation of anything and they refused to be separated from the other. And somehow, despite there being an 'ex' before the 'Agent' part of Kathryn Adler-Salani's title, she still managed to project enough authority that the minions listened to her when she demanded they be allowed to remain together. It was obvious to her (and to Coulson and I) that something had happened to those two, something traumatic, and they needed each other to endure...

We were given what I was sure must be a very summarized version of the events that had taken place on Loki's home-world... or old-home, judging by his disdain for the place in general. Even on that first day I didn't miss the different in inflection whenever he talked about the Allfather (never actually calling him father), Thor's friends, and some other people, even the place in general; compared to how he referred to his Mother (whom he never called anything but, except the first time to clarify who exactly he was referring to), Thor, and Nightingale (which was what he called Silbhé... his match, his wife... their marriage was actually made legal the next day).

It seemed that after Odin had woken a sort of struggle for power and authority had taken place. Odin had won it, if only because there was no one who could actually take the old man's place as King as the moment. However, knowing that 'dear-old dad' would have no mercy of his youngest son (adopted, as we also found out), a bargain was struck: Thor had to prepare himself to take the throne, with no help from his brother; while Loki himself was sent on 'temporary exile' with his match, until the day the second part of the deal was sealed. Thor had no more than a decade to lay claim to the throne. When he did he would be able to officially 'pardon' his brother, and also make his match to Silbhé legal and binding in their world. However, if the decade passed and he wasn't ready, or if he claimed to be and failed, Loki would be fully judged as a traitor to Asgard, and as his wife, Silbhé would share his fate (which, we'd been told, was likely to be worse than death... because when your daughter is the Queen of the Dead, such threats tend to lose their power... or something like that).

We were also informed that Jane was being given a chance to become a citizen of Asgard as well as a bride (Thor's obviously) but only if she managed to create a bridge between our world and theirs (one that was not the already existing one) before Thor became King. And that was also how she ended working in a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, with all kinds of resources and assistants (because it was convenient for the organization to stay on the good side of the only woman who understood things like the connection between worlds, and such... and also had the potential of being the next Queen of the gods...).

The change also meant that Jane no longer needed me as her intern (she had a whole team of them, all of them far better prepared to assist her). However, it's a good thing I never actually expected to be free of S.H.I.E.L.D., because as it turned out that was never in the cards.

I had just finished packing all my stuff and was considering how exactly I was supposed to get to either Santa Fe or Albuquerque so I could find a proper airport and fly from there to home... or my mother's home at least, when Agent pretty much invited himself into the trailer, sat down, took a folder out of his briefcase, and informed me he'd some papers in need of my signature. I honestly thought it was just more of the Confidentiality and Top-Secret forms, the if-you-talk-we-will-make-you-disappear kind that S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to like so much; it was until I was halfway through scrawling my signature at the bottom of one of them that I finally read what it said; they weren't confidentiality forms, they were contracts, for a job... a real job.

As it turned out, Phil Coulson was apparently in need of an assistant, and god-knows-why, he decided I was the perfect person for the job. Since I actually was in need of a job, and not even the mess with the huge killer-robot had cured me of my desire for adventure, I said yes. And while there were moments when I thought I must have been crazy for actually signing those documents, I never actually regretted it.

I didn't actually get to attend S.H.I.E.L.D.'s version of Hogwarts, at all; instead I was tutored in whatever areas I was missing something. As it turned out I was better than any possible tutor when it came to history and computer sciences (I am a hacker, of course!). Phil insisted that I took the courses necessary to major in both, so I would have more backing, and I agreed, if only because I could take the courses online, while continuing with other things. The part of lying and pretending was easy enough, and Phil had no problem teaching me to strategize (one learns a lot about such things reading about Roman history and such). Science (actual science) was beyond me, but it wasn't like I needed to know everything, so that was alright.

The first true problem came when learning hand to hand. I was just a bit too... top-heavy, so-to-speak, for most styles... and then there were the instructors who kept getting distracted by my boobs when they ought to have been teaching me how to fight! In the end Phil called in a favor and the Black Widow herself came in to teach me. By the end of the first session she had swept the floor with me half a dozen times, I'd managed to avoid a few of her hits in a row, and she was asking me to call her Natasha.

The next problem I faced came when I was sent to learn firearms. I cannot shoot a gun, simply cannot, period. I hate guns, so much... a simulation proved that even in a dangerous situation my hands simply refused to do it. Some swore that there was no way I could be a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent like that... until Phil offered me a different kind of gun. It looked like any normal handgun I'd seen the other S.H.I.E.L.D. minions handling, except it was somewhat lighter, and the handle felt like leather. As I found out after shooting with it for the first time, the handle was actually leather, and instead of shooting bullets, the gun shot electricity; it was like a modified taser. (and later versions of it actually allowed me to choose the voltage I wanted to shoot... the difference between stunning someone or actually frying him).

And just like that, by the end of the summer I was a certified Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. I didn't actually have a clearance level assigned because someone (coughFurycough) refused to give me a badge with a Level 8, even though, as Phil's PA it was quite obvious I would end up seeing most if not all that he did, all that was meant for that level. At first it was a joke, and in the end it became part of my rank. People began calling me a Shadow in S.H.I.E.L.D., I had no real badge, no official rank, but I could get everywhere and into anything with no trouble at all (even some things that were above Phil's rank sometimes...). As I wasn't there officially I also didn't have to deal with the bunch of bastards known as the WSC (which was well and good in my book), Phil hated that he couldn't ignore them like I did.

In my new job I got to travel, meet a lot of people. It was actually Stark who created the second version of my taser-gun. And eventually another gun joined my arsenal, invented years later by members of Phil's new team: they called it an I.C.E.R., which shot some sort of dendrotoxin capable of knocking out anyone... even metas and 'augmented' individuals. It was awesome! Though that came much later.

It took a year for Silbhé and Loki (or Luka as everyone but those in the know knew him) to finish 'educating' all current Agents and assets on everything mythology and history related that could be connected somehow to Asgard or any of the other realms we'd made aware of. The revelation of that existence wasn't actually made public, not even inside S.H.I.E.L.D. itself, which would explain why most agents thought it was all fairytales and didn't understand why they had to learn all about it in the first place.

After that year was over the couple were moved to the New York base, under the supervision of Fury's own second in command: Sub-Director Maria Hill. Supposedly Fury had decided he wanted the Hveðrungrs close in case anything happened. For the most part Luka worked teaching the odd class in the Empire State University, consulting for students doing post-grad work in his areas of study, and aiding in the odd S.H.I.E.L.D. operation. Silbhé for her part wrote articles for various magazines, books, newspapers, did a bit of consulting herself, and assisted her husband when necessary. There was also the mythology course they gave every new generation of S.H.I.E.L.D. baby-agents once a a year.

At first they would do it in each Academy at a time, until a question came up. Why not putting them all together? After all, they were all part of S.H.I.E.L.D., shouldn't they all meet at some point or something? As it turned out, the answer was no, as in it had never occurred to any of them. Most of the times S.H.I.E.L.D. kept their Agents restricted to their respective areas of specialty: specialists working on the field, scientists in their labs, techs in their own labs, etc. Taking Luka's question as a starting point Phil proposed that was changed, and that was pretty much where his new team came from.

"We know you're there Darcy." Loki called from the front of the classroom right then.

I just smiled as I stepped out of the corner. It's not like I was hiding from him, from them, I knew better than that. The baby-Agents on the other hand...

"I'm actually disappointed that none of the wannabe-minions noticed." I admitted with a shrug as I walked beside them.

Silbhé just rolled her eyes as she lead the way down the hall.

"We find it disappointing as well." Loki agreed. "How can any of them hope to be of any true help when they cannot even notice you standing in a corner; and it's not like you were actually using any special talent to hide there!" He made a pause before adding. "And then there's their lack of interest in what we're here to teach them. While it is understanding that they know not the importance of what is being taught, they should realize that there must be a reason their superiors have deemed this knowledge necessary for them to possess."

"True." I agreed immediately. "However, you must realize that, somehow, even with the mess the Destroyer made of Puente Antiguo, S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to conceal any and all evidence of alien activity in the area. They keep on to their belief that what you're teaching them is nothing but fairytales because they don't know any better."

Loki nodded, though if he was agreeing with me, or something else I did not know, until he spoke again a second later:

"Indeed..." He declared." Let us just hope that when the day comes and they know better, they won't be in the middle of a battle for their lives."

"That sounds very foreboding Luka..." I muttered, eyes narrowing. "Know something we lowly mortals do not, do you?"

The question was serious, though the 'lowly mortals' comment was meant just in jest, and they both knew it. It was a running joke among us.

"You know as well as I do, sister mine, that I cannot know such things." He replied with a small smile. "However..." He turned to look at his wife half-worried. "Nightingale has been getting restless lately, Rose as well... Rose has actually been having dreams. If they're portentous or not, we know not, and yet..."

"You have a bad feeling." I finished for him.

"We hate to make decisions based on feelings, but at this moment it is all we have to go on." Loki admitted with a sigh.

"We will do whatever we have to to keep them safe, to keep all of you safe, you know that, right?" I began the sentence as a statement, yet ended it as a question.

"We know." Loki answered.

Silbh'e just nodded beside him at the same time.

"Aunty Darcy!" The new voice got all of us out of our funk almost instantly.

I hadn't even realized when exactly all three of us had made it all the way to the waiting room where Kathryn and little Rose (all of four years old) had been waiting for us. Kathryn, while fully recognized as an Agent by S.H.I.E.L.D., mostly worked behind a desk, as well as homeschooling Rose in the mornings. Little Rose was also my god-daughter.

Rose, full name Rose Alfdis Salani Hveðrungr was a miracle in every sense of the word. I would never forget the morning in New Mexico that September, I'd just finished my intensive training to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent (an Agent, not a minion) and had dropped by New Mexico to visit my friends before beginning official duties as Phil's new PA. We'd had a lovely breakfast prepared by Silbhé (pancakes and cocoa were at the top of the apparently rather short list of things she could cook without burning anything or setting things on fire), when she suddenly began swaying, Loki had barely made it to her side when she fainted. In the hospital we learnt that not only was she pregnant, but because of the cancer still in her blood the pregnancy was so risky the doctors were all recommending it to be terminated. (And the only reason Loki didn't go ballistic on everyone right then and there was because every single doctor had stated it was for Silbhé's own safety). In the end Silbhé refused to have an abortion, she had never expected to have a child, especially since she apparently knew the odds well enough; but after learning she was with child... she was willing to put everything, even her own life, on the line for that child.

Such sacrifices weren't necessary in the end. We received an unexpected visit, from a woman who's whispered greeting of 'Mother' by Loki was enough to describe; and even if I hadn't known that, I'm quite sure that her presence alone would have been enough to clue me into the fact that the Queen of the gods was standing in the room. She gave Silbhé a goblet of something to drink, I knew not what it was. Loki just told us that it would give his Nightingale enough strength to get through the pregnancy and give birth to their child without putting the lives of either in danger. It worked. On the Spring Equinox of the following year, the little girl was born.

I was rather surprised when asked to be godmother, especially when I was informed that they'd picked Phil to be the godfather; our relationship back then was that of friends, very good friends, but still nothing more than that. Phil was dating a cellist in Washington called Audrey, he was so convinced she was the one he'd actually filed the forms necessary to reveal to her the truth about his job... however, things seemed to have become rather tense since then. I knew I had feelings for Phil even back then, though I didn't allow myself to look too closely at them, he was a taken man and I wasn't a home-wrecker. So I was his friend.

Rose's naming ceremony took place nine days after her birth, as was tradition in Asgard. Phil and I also filled the papers that would legally make us her guardians if anything ever happened to Silbhé and Loki. On that front it was explained to us that while Jane was as good as Rose's aunt (for her, unofficial, betrothal to Thor), if anything were to ever happen, Rose would be safer with us, the two also trusted us with their child, which was both the hugest compliment ever and also extremely humbling.

So I became Rose's godmother which, as Loki informed me, automatically made me part of the family (hence he and Silbhé calling me 'sister', just like they did Jane).

"Hey Little Rose!" I greeted my god-daughter brightly, sweeping her off the ground and twirling her around.

She laughed her twinkling laugh... so much like her mother's used to be... it was probably the thing I missed the most of her, even if I hadn't heard it much.

"Is Uncle Phil coming tonight?" Rose asked when I stopped twirling.

"Not tonight, but soon." I promised her with a smile.

"Is uncle Phil away fighting the monsters?" She asked with a pouty smile.

"Of course." I answered immediately, smiling at her innocent way of looking at things. "You know Uncle Phil is a valiant warrior..."

"The most valiant of all!" She crowed with another laugh.

"More valiant that me?" Loki called dramatically, taking Rose into his arms and swinging her around playfully.

"But you're not a Warrior papa!" Rose replied, never stopping her laughter.

Rose knew who her father was, who both her parents were, of course, how could she not? Even as young as she was, she'd begun manifesting already: small bursts of magic here and there, and then there was her obvious fascination with fire... I was sure that if she turned out to be an elemental, she would be pyrokinetic; Loki found it hard, as his elemental power was ice, because of his Jotun nature, and while Rose seemed to have inherited more from her mother than her father, her natural eyes looked enough like those of Loki's Jotun form (though, with magic, she could shift them into looking chocolate brown rather than the strange mix of red-orange and black that was her natural shade).

So Rose knew about her dad being the Norse god Loki, and also that only family and close friends were to know that secret, so others would call him Luka; she also knew what that meant for her (both with him being a Jotun, a Sorcerer, and a Prince); however, she'd never seen her dad fight; and that, somehow, was enough for her to consider it an impossibility. Loki seemed to prefer it like that, anyway.

And Phil... he really was out there, somewhere in the world, fighting the 'monsters', the menaces that most S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents would never be able to deal with; with his special team.

It had begun two years earlier; three years after I first became Phil's assistant, almost two after we began dating, and but a few months after we were actually married...

Things had finally gone south with Audrey months after Rose's birth; she just couldn't handle not knowing where he was or if he was even safe (or alive) most of the time. I was his friend, there to offer comfort, support, somehow that turned into a 'friends with benefits' situation, and it kind'a evolved from there. Though I still think Tony and Rose were to blame for a lot of it, especially when he finally popped the question.

We were married in a small, private (civil) ceremony, with only our closest friends in attendance; which somehow included Tony and Pepper Stark, they themselves had married months after the mess with A.I.M. and Extremis, and already had a daughter: Victoria (Vika) Mariah Potts Stark; Nick Fury, Steve Rogers (aka Captain America), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) and of course Jane, Kathryn, Loki, Silbhé and Rose.

I was called into Fury's office at a quite ungodly hour. The only thing that had stopped me ranting at him was the pleading look in Phil's eyes as he looked at me from one of the couches in the sitting-room area of Fury's huge office (which was already enough to raise red flags in my mind regarding whatever was coming).

It turned out that Fury had been planning to kill off Phil (not literally) so he could go off grid and work on getting rid of an emerging group intent on creating new super-soldiers: Centipede. While people wanting to replicate Erskine's serum wasn't new, no one before had come as close as that particular group seemed to be. Somehow they had gotten their dirty hands either on a sample of Extremis or at least enough information to replicate it (the volatile non-Stark-approved version of it), as well as a bunch of other things, including what Loki had confirmed was an alloy not from our planet, probably something left behind during the last inter-dimensional war... that or someone other than the God of Mischief and Lies had been visiting our planet, unnoticed, in the last eleven centuries or so...

So the group was a risk, one S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to handle; and yet it was as if they could always see us coming (I'd been with Phil in one of those missions). So Fury got the idea of making it seem like Phil had died and then send him and a hand-picked group of agents after Centipede and their allies, directly. Only Fury himself would be aware of the team (and maybe Hill), no one else would know a thing about them.

That was all well and good, except for the part where Phil knew I would never sit back and just buy it that my husband had been killed in a black ops mission. I couldn't go with him, much as I might have liked it. Like Fury said, someone would need to pick on Phil's old duties, and I was the best person for the job. It was then that 'unranked, unofficial' status as a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent became especially useful, as I became the actual contact between Fury and Phil's new team. I would be the only one to know where they were at any given time, and the only way for either side to contact the other.

Fury also decided to take that chance to test Loki's and Phil's proposal of a mixed team. This wasn't like most missions, the team couldn't count on being able to go to the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. base to conduct research, get backup or consult as was needed; they would have to make do with the people actually in their team, unless some kind of emergency happened.

There actually was one such emergency, about six months or so into their mission. When some insane bitch called Raina kidnapped Phil, under the belief that he had truly died and somehow been revived; her boss, the Clairvoyant wanted to have that kind of power/technology, and thought Phil would be able to tell him... except there was no such thing, because Phil had never truly been dead.

The worst part was that Fury didn't have the balls to tell me himself what had happened (he got an earful from me afterwards because of that). No, I found out because of Skye... because of the bracelet blocking her from hacking (I was the one who created it, and was the one looking over everything she did while wearing it). Phil hadn't wanted to give up on her just yet, and I fully approved of his decision. I noticed when she tried to access highly classified information for the umpteenth time in 24 hours, and it was enough to raise my suspicions. After that all I needed was to do a quick sweep of the missions taking place, several supervised directly by Victoria Hand herself raised red flags in my head; her getting involved in the war against Centipede had never been part of the plan, which meant that someone else had gotten her in... someone who hadn't known to call me instead. After that I took the first available Stark jet (being his handler and friend and almost-adopted-daughter had its perks) and reached the command center right as Hand was about to kick Skye out of the Bus, the mission and the team. I got there just in time to hear a rather motivating speech for the young woman in fact:

"_I know I'm not some bad-ass field agent like May or Ward, but this is what I do." She declared quite strongly. "You can't just kick me off this mission. Listen, I will do whatever you say. All this protocol crap doesn't matter to me. All that matters to me is Coulson." _

"_Well, 'all this protocol crap' matters to me." Hand retorted in a rather condescending tone. "You're a distraction, and you're gone." _

_It looked like Agent Grant Ward was actually about to speak up, hopefully in Skye's favor; however, I chose to announce my presence instead and take over things myself. _

"_You should be careful what you say and in front of whom you say it, Agent Hand." I told her in my most blank tone (learnt from Phil and Kathryn). "Some people might think you just don't care about your colleagues." _

_Hand reacted instantly, spinning around and looking me up and down, dismissing me just as fast, I just rolled my eyes. _

"_Who are you?" She asked, suspiciously. _

_She knew I wasn't one of hers, therefore didn't understand why I was there, or how... _

"_Agent Darcy Lewis." I informed her stoically. "I'm here to relieve you of your post." _

_That certainly shocked everyone present. _

"_You cannot do that!" She snapped. "What authority have you to do that. I am Level 8... show me your badge Agent." _

_I promptly did as bid, knowing what she would see there, and what her reaction would be... maybe I'd been spending too long in Loki's company, and Tony's, but I so enjoyed messing with people's heads... still do. _

"_This badge doesn't show any rank whatsoever, Agent, if you even are one at that." She said darkly. "You have no authority here." _

_From the corner of my eye I could see Melinda stiffen; we'd never met personally, but I was sure she must at least have had an inkling as to who I was, still she did nothing. _

"_I do not have a rank, because I do not need one, Agent Hand." I told her quietly but with all the authority I could muster. "I am Darcy Lewis-Coulson, more than an Agent, I am the Shadow of S.H.I.E.L.D. If there is someone here who has no authority over the other, that is you. Now, since you've already demonstrated your utter lack of concern for Phil's welfare, and a despicable lack of respect for his team, I will take the responsibility off your shoulders. I relieve you of your command, and of this mission; you are to take your people and get off this Bus. Now!" _

_I never actually raised my voice much, it wasn't necessary. Hand had realized who exactly I was from the moment the word 'Shadow' was used; the existence of such an Agent had been gossip all around S.H.I.E.L.D. since my appointment, the fact that I answered to only three people in the entire organization: Fury, Hill and Coulson (and more out of respect than anything else). She knew she had no authority to challenge my order. _

_The moment all the minions finished rushing out of the plane I hit the button to close the ramp before spinning around to face the team, all of who were watching me with a bit of nervousness and excitement. _

"_Now, if this team is good and ready to find Phil..." I commented. "Lets get moving people!" _

"_Wheels up in five." May announced before turning and leaving for the cockpit. _

"_You're not going to send me away?" Skye blurted out nervously. _

"_Skye..." Ward began. _

"_Whyever would I do that?" I asked, honestly puzzled. _

"_Well, Hand didn't seem to like me, neither did any of the other Agents that invaded the Bus in the last hours, either." Skye answered with a shrug. _

"_You don't mind the minions." I deadpanned. "Few of them are capable of seeing a true treasure when it stands before them." _

_My very blasé comment startled a laugh out of the young woman, though it didn't really set her at ease; I was still an unknown. _

"_I know exactly who you are Skye." I assured her. "And I know that if anyone stands a chance of finding Phil soon, it's you... I hope you won't mind the help..." _

"_But this..." She gestured to her bracelet. _

"_I will override it for the time being." I informed her as we began walking to the command center. "I cannot take it off, only Phil can do that. But I can allow you to hack as much as is necessary until we find him and he takes care of that." _

"_You said you were a hacker too...?" Ward inquired, walking after us. _

"_Yes." I smirked. "TaserNinja, pleased to meet you..." _

"_Taser...?" Skye repeated, baffled. "You're the Taser?! You're the Queen of Hackers?!" _

_I just laughed. And then, the best of all: _

"_Wait a second." One of the scientists, Fitz called right then. "You introduced yourself as Lewis-Coulson, why was that?" _

"_Are you related to Agent Coulson?" His other half, Simmons, asked almost at the same time. _

"_Yeah..." I couldn't help the smirk as I dropped the bombshell on them. "I'm his wife..." _

Just like I had expected: Skye tracked down Phil's most likely location barely a couple of hours later, and with barely any help for me. I knew she would feel good achieving something like that on her own, so instead I focused on following the minor leads she came across, managing to point out a number of Centipede hideouts which I then sent to Fury on an encrypted message; he could handle the clean-up of the secondary locations himself.

After the rescue, and a well-deserved week dedicated for R&R the team went on to continue their mission; though by then they all had my contact information and knew to call me if there ever was an emergency of any sort.

And because life sucks for us, sometimes. The emergency didn't take that long to happen: Skye was shot twice in the stomach by the bastard Ian Quinn. I knew the young woman, loved her like a little sister, I also knew Phil saw her almost like a daughter... I had felt especially connected since I'd been helping Phil find out about her parents. The good thing in all was that they knew what to do: call me. I then talked to Silbhé, whom we'd recently discovered had the gift to heal, and together we went to save Skye.

Almost a year to the day Phil had been 'declared dead' in preparation for his team's formation I got another call, this time so I would ask Silbhé and Loki directly for help, as their newest case involved an object that was believed to be of Asgardian origin: the Berserker staff. It was that day that the team truly got to meet the little family Phil and I considered our closest friends...

And after one more year leading such a life, we'd come to that moment. It was a good thing Phil and I had no doubt whatsoever about each other's feelings, otherwise out relationship would have never survived the long periods of separation and the constant danger our jobs kept us in (he with his team, me as handler to so many wannabe heroes it wasn't even funny... I had no idea how he'd done it... even if half of those would-be heroes hadn't risen until after he'd had to leave his old post for the new one; and at least they had all known me before as Phil's PA and therefore trusted me, so it wasn't like I didn't have a certain advantage on that front.

We were all still together as we got on the small golf-car-like vehicle used to move from the underground level of S.H.I.E.L.D. offices to the apartment building (even in the outskirts of New York it was far easier than trying to do so out in the street in a normal car). We all had dinner together in the Hveðrungr home; they insisted on it whenever Phil wasn't in town and I had no plans on dining with Jane, which had become increasingly rare as the astrophysicist put all her effort in opening that 'doorway' into Asgard. She had advanced so much, practically by leaps and bounds in the first year; until she had hit a wall (metaphorically); she could open windows into the Abyss (which Loki warned her off, as it was quite dangerous and she could end up calling the attention of the wrong kind of power), but she just couldn't find a way to make the other end reach Asgard rather than empty space... It frustrated her more and more as time passed. She began fearing she might not be able to finish her test in time...

After dinner I hung back for a while, not too keen on returning to my empty apartment (the longer Phil spent away the more depressed I began feeling at being alone... it was why he hardly ever spent more than two weeks away at a time). Eventually it was Rose's bedtime and after assisting her parents with the nightly bedtime story I prepared to leave for the night.

"Goodnight guys..." I said as I kissed their cheeks on my way out.

"Have a good night, sister." Loki nodded.

Silbhé smiled at me, as she signed her own goodnight to me...

It was the truth, the truth everyone knew even if so few knew the true reason why: Silbhé could not speak... the Nightingale had lost her voice. And I knew, was one of the few people who did; and I could still remember how we'd found out:

_It had been over an hour since Loki and Silbhé had been guided into the conference room in the S.H.I.E.L.D. post that had been built around Mj...Mewmew, even if the hammer was no longer around, the post would remain until the Agents were ready to leave. Kathryn Salani had just arrived too. Apparently she had rented a car in Santa Fe after arriving in the plane, made her way to Puente Antiguo, then walked to the first suit she identified and demanded to be taken to whoever was in charge; which happened to be Phil, who realized who she was the moment Kathryn recited her full name._

_Those same minions had initially taken Loki and Silbhé to what passed as a holding cell there, something that Loki hadn't liked at all. Only Silbhé's soothing touch managed to calm him down... and the dressing down Phil gave the minions for doing something like that to someone who was, effectively, a visiting diplomat._

_Loki explained everything that had happened after Thor and the others' trip to Asgard. Whenever a question was asked, as long as it wasn't of personal nature he answered, even those directed to Silbhé. People began believing he was hiding something, that he refused to let her speak for whatever the reason, some said he just liked the sound of his own voice too much... idiots. In the end they simply believed that Loki's excessive talking was the reason of Silbhé silence, rather than the consequence... until she showed them the truth._

Even five years later, most of those who knew Silbhé, who knew that she couldn't speak, believed that her scarf was meant to hide some terrible scar that crossed her throat, that was the reason for her lack of speech. Especially those who have seen her train at least once, either in hand to hand or with her knives, thought like that. Truth is, the scarf did hide the reason for her inability to speak, only it's not a wound, or a scar... it's a collar.

I first saw it that day, when Fury (who had arrived shortly after Loki, Silbhé and Kathryn, wanting to be there in person to hear the report of everything) demanded to know why he would not allow his wife the chance to speak. I will never forget the deep, absolute despair that colored Loki's voice as he answered:

"_Because she can't! The Allfather has punished her for my crimes, my Nightingale cannot sing, she cannot even speak anymore."_

To illustrate the fact Silbhé had pulled the scarf off, showing everyone in the room the snug collar she had around her neck, it was magical, it blocked her voice from coming out. And it wasn't the only thing, Loki had a collar around his own neck, except his prevented him from accessing his magic, it was still there, he just could use it. The only way the two collars would ever come off was if Thor managed to pass his test and removed them himself. Otherwise they would remain like that for the rest of their lives...

Everyone present was absolutely horrified when learning how far Odin Allfather was willing to go to punish someone, even (especially!) his own son... it helped us understand why Loki held the supposed King of Asgard under such contempt; we couldn't help but feel the same... The most surprising of all, though, was Silbhé's declaration: relayed by her through sign-language, as well as Loki translating (S.H.I.E.L.D. would later get a translator of their own to confirm it):

"_+I do not regret it!+" She declared strongly. "+I did what I did because it was the only way I could protect my match. The things the Allfather would have done if he'd been the only one he could take his anger out on... it deeply terrifies me just to consider it. So yes, this happened to me, because I offered myself, I offered to do anything, any sacrifice, for him, to stand by him. This was the price, losing my voice. And I shall not regret it! I shall never regret standing by the person I love with all my heart and soul...+" _

I knew she was honest when saying that she didn't regret standing by her husband, but I also knew she missed singing, and that Loki missed hearing her sing. At least they still had her flute, it wasn't much, but it was something...

I went to bed that night in the same manner I did whenever I had to sleep alone. What I wasn't expecting was when I felt a pair of strong hands moving me softly in the early morning (before dawn probably), to what was technically my side of the bed. For a few seconds I didn't process what was going on, what with the voice whispering in my ear to go back to sleep... until the conscious part of my mind processed the fact that there was no reason I should be hearing anyone, not when I was supposed to be alone...

My eyes snapped open then, meeting the blue-gray ones I knew so well, as they belonged to my husband of two years. My husband who's face twisted into a sheepish smile when he noticed I'd woken, despite his attempts at moving me without waking me; yet I didn't care about any of that in that moment. All I cared about was him, he was there, with me...

"Phil!" I cried out in absolute delight, throwing my arms around his neck and pulling his mouth to mine in a passionate kiss.

It wasn't dawn and the day was already looking like the best I'd had in a while...

**xXx Nightingale's POV xXx**

When you lose the one thing that has defined you for so long, do you simply stop being who and what you were? Do you redefine yourself, become someone else entirely? Or do you find a way to hold onto that identity you once created for yourself? Can a Nightingale still be called such when she no longer has a voice with which to sing her songs? Is a Sorcerer still one even if his magic has been taken from him? What defines us truly, our powers or our decisions?

From the moment Odin said he would spare my beloved's life if we were willing to make the 'required sacrifices' I knew what would come would in no way be pleasant. His almost diabolical expression was enough of a warning that whatever the so-called King was planning, it wouldn't be good. Loki's magic wasn't that surprising, for either of us, Lady Frigg put her foot down when he suggested stripping my match of all his power, she realized doing that would kill us both, as his strength as a mortal would never be able to support us, not with the sickness that forever ran in my veins... Odin must have known that too, which places a whole new layer of cruelty and maliciousness in his decision-making... At least we had the Queen on our side.

But in the end, Odin demanding for Loki's magic to be sealed wasn't really a surprise. The magic was too much part of Loki's nature, so it couldn't be taken away (unless he was to go full-out, like he'd originally implied), so instead it was sealed in such a way that it was still a part of my love, he just could not access it.

What neither of us was expecting, was what he chose to demand of me.

"_My voice?" I was so shocked I almost stuttered. _

"_Yes, indeed." Odin was sporting a self-satisfied smirk as he said that. "You are addressed as Nightingale, though I do not believe that was the name you were born with." _

_He made a pause as if waiting for an answer, for more personal information, but I refused to give it to him, I refused to give him anything he might use against me, against us. _

"_There must be a reason for that name." He went on eventually. "I believe it is your voice. So, if you really are willing to do anything for Loki, you will surrender your voice." _

_I could sense the fury burning inside Loki, knew he was going to do something rash and risky unless I stopped me, so I did. _

"_I will do it." I announced. _

_The shocked silence was telling, no one was expecting that... especially not Odin. _

"_I will not give you my voice." I clarified. "I know enough about you, your ways, I will not allow you to use my voice to torture my match further. But I will allow something to be used to stop my voice from being heard." _

_There was a minute twitch in his expression, hardly noticeable at all, yet I saw it, I knew I was right in my assumption of his intentions. _

"_Nightingale..." Loki whispered, caressing my cheek, his face twisted in pain. "You do not have to do this, my love..." _

"_But I do." I moved my face into his caress. "They don't believe I love you enough... but I will show them. We will show them, my Maverick." I returned the caress. "I know you love me for more than my voice, just like I love you for more than your magic. There is more to us than what the Allfather wishes to take away. This love... it's absolute, unbreakable, eternal..." _

"_I swear that the day I become King, I will return what is yours, brother, sister." Thor called from the other side of the room in a solemn tone. _

_I nodded, I believed him, I had too... _

_With that, I embraced my love one more time, buring my face in his neck as I whispered-sang one line from the last song I'd composed for him, which I'd sung for him in our wedding: _

"_When I found you I was blessed _

_And I will never leave you _

_I need you…" _

_Those were the last words I got to say out loud. The moment I stood straight before Odin he waved his hand in my direction, I could feel the pressure around my throat, almost like I couldn't breathe... my mouth dropped open against my own will, a small cry wanting to escape, except not a sound would come out... my voice was gone, trapped... _

It wasn't easy. It wasn't just my ability to sing that I lost, I truly couldn't pronounce a single word. Couldn't talk to people, greet them, give class, ask for help, laugh... as it turned out I surrendered a lot more than my songs when I gave up my voice, it was a part of my own self, of my life and even my independence. I could not be a true Agent for S.H.I.E.L.D., couldn't even give a class on my own, not when I couldn't speak it. Still, there was no denying that I was the best in my specialties. The only one with that combination even, so S.H.I.E.L.D. still insisted on having me.

The official version in the organization, and even to the public, was that I had lost my voice under top-secret circumstances. Most Agents had taken that to mean that I'd been part of some black ops mission or something like that (especially those who had heard at least some of the rumors about New Mexico, as it was no secret I'd been there). Those who had seen me practice my hand to hand, or throwing my knives at least once were especially convinced about that version of the story; of course, none of them knew the truth about my husband, or his father...

It had been Loki's decision to help giving the classes when it became obvious that even if I handled all the material and checked the assignments we still needed someone to actually speak during the classes themselves. He claimed not to mind... and I know that at least a part of him believed it was something he needed to do, as it was his fault I'd lost my voice in the first place (I tried to convince him that wasn't true, but he was just too stubborn).

I wouldn't actually complain about my life, there's been too much good in it for that. Losing my voice didn't stop me from making a career (in and out of S.H.I.E.L.D.), there were grad-students always sending me e-mails, asking me to help supervise their work, magazines willing and even offering to publish my articles, and such. There were also the few people who made the effort of learning sign-language and were quite enthusiastic about having long conversations with me, even if only they spoke out-loud, or sometimes not even that.

Darcy was one such person. Jane's once intern somehow became one of my and Loki's closest friends. One of maybe a handful of people who never blamed my love about what happened in New Mexico, never feared or rejected him. She was the first person to learn sign-language, aside from my own aunt, who'd chosen to learn it years before to help her as a nurse (Darcy actually already knew a few words and phrases, as she'd been curious at some point, or so she claimed). She quickly got used to signing everything even as she said it out-loud.

It was probably that good disposition and willingness to learn which made both Phil Coulson (who became another close friend) and Nick Fury (the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and apparently old acquaintance/colleague/partner/friend/something-else of my Aunt Kathryn) decide to make Darcy into our handler/liaison. Still, it was the bonds of friendship that made Loki and I decide to ask both her and Phil to be Rose's godparents when she was born.

It was nothing against Jane. Even though she spent almost every waking hour of every day researching and working, trying to open a way to Asgard, Loki and I still did our best to spend at least a little time with her every day, and at least eat all together once or twice a week. She was to be family, already was as far as we were concerned.

Things had gotten especially complicated when Jane's research hit a wall (figuratively). I could still remember the first time a 'Foster Window' had been activated, 15 months or so after the beginning of her research. Originally the first-run was supposed to happen six-months earlier, but one of the assistants had noticed something off and Agents had been called to sweep the place from top to bottom. What they found was enough to make anyone's blood run cold: explosive devices were set all around where the window was supposed to open, rigged to go off a number of seconds after it was activated, and using the very energy powering it. That kind of explosion, the kind of loss it would have caused...

It took six months to go over everything again and finally convince everyone it was a good idea to give the window another try. It was the only reason Loki and I were actually present when the window opened; we hadn't been there during the cancelled-attempt as I'd been giving birth to our daughter, Rose; on the second try she was being looked after by Aunt Kathryn while we were there and ready to help.

Loki was the first to realize what it was we were seeing through the device: it was all very dark, but it wasn't just any darkness, it was the darkness of the abyss!

"_Close it!" Loki practically roared. _

_The techs all turned to look either at him or at Jane, neither moving or doing anything really, so unsure of if they should follow the orders of a man they hardly knew. Darcy knew better, even if she did not know what made Loki so on edge, she understood there must be a reason and reacted accordingly, rushing to the master switch and pulling it down immediately. _

_The energy was cut off and the window vanished, with no few sparks, which made more than a few flinch, especially as they waited for their boss's reaction. However, she didn't say a word, she just turned to Loki, who was gesticulating a lot as he spoke to me, even if they couldn't hear him I was sure they must realize just by his stance that something was wrong... I had realized it even before he said a word. _

"_Everyone out!" Darcy snapped loudly. _

_All the people in the room turned to look at her, confused, but none of them obeyed, not until Jane seconded the order, still confused by what was going on, but recognizing, just as Darcy did, that something was, indeed, going on. _

_In the end only Darcy, Jane, Phil, Loki and I remained in the room._

"_Cut the video feed." Loki ordered more than asked. _

_It was a good thing that they'd come to trust us in the last year and a half, as Phil did as told, no questions asked. The moment it was confirmed my husband turned to look at me and nodded. _

_I didn't need anything else to be said, I went to stand before the frame where the window formed. The moment I got close enough I raised my hand, palms wide open in the direction and the began focusing. My match stood behind me, hands on my arms as he chanted under his breath. _

_It was something no one could have expected; I was especially sure Odin didn't, otherwise he would have done something to stop it. Loki was unable to use his own magic, but the same could not be said for me. Since Loki's magic was tightly entwined with his life-force we shared the former as surely as we shared the later. Loki had been training me on it from the moment we first noticed his magic lighting up my fingers about halfway through my pregnancy. During those months it was mostly just meditation and learning to feel the magic, see it as a part of me. After Rose was born and I recovered from the hard labor (even with Lady Frigg's help, it was hard), we began to truly practice. _

_Still, since it wasn't really my magic, I needed a sort of reminder of what I was doing, an anchor, words... I couldn't speak, I had begun having trouble hearing my voice even inside my own mind (though I knew not if that was because of Odin's 'punishment', or purely psychological). I needed to hear the words, so Loki would stand behind me, touching me in some way so I would focus on him, and he would say the words to guide the magic... our magic. _

_I did magic for him, and he spoke for me... (it was why he said 'we' so much, instead of I, even when I didn't sign things, he knew me as well as I knew myself). _

_In that moment what was needed was quite hard and very specific. Still, like Loki had taught me, magic was about intent, about bending what Jane called the 'laws of physics' to suit our purpose. She, Thor and many others might say that magic was just science that couldn't explained yet; but it was more. Or at least Loki's magic was, much more. _

_It took a while (I wouldn't be able to tell just how long). But eventually we managed to erase all trace of the window, everything, completely. When we were done I felt so tired, as if I'd spent hours and hours doing every spell I'd ever been taught. _

_The moment we were done I went boneless, too exhausted to so much as stay standing anymore, it was only thanks to Loki that I didn't collapse to the ground in a heap; he held me up before scooping me in his arms and carrying me out of the lab and into the sitting room closest to it, where he sat on a couch, with me still cradled in his arms. _

_For almost a few minutes nothing happened, I was unaware of anything that wasn't my match holding me, didn't even notice our friends (our family) had followed us until one spoke: _

"_Will someone explain to me what the hell just happened back there?" Darcy blurted out. _

_She dropped carelessly onto the winged chair closest to us; Jane and Phil following, sitting on another couch, opposite from us. _

"_What she said." Jane agreed. _

_Phil just nodded, not saying a word, he was just observing us. _

"_Jane, you must promise us, you must swear to us, that until you find a way to choose where the other side of the window will open, you will not open another one." Loki stated grimly. _

"_Why?" Jane wanted to know. "What happened? What went wrong? I thought the window was opening quite well, eve if we ended up just taking a look into empty space." _

"_What you call empty space, we call the Abyss." Loki clarified. "And it's not quite as empty as humans would believe." _

"_You mean there are living creatures in space?" Darcy was shocked by the revelation. "I thought that was impossible." _

"_It's not easy, that's for sure." Loki nodded grimly. "Not anyone can survive in such a desolate and harsh environment. Myth has it that back in the time before the existence of the 9 Realms, before Yggdrassil itself came to be, Titans existed, in the nothingness of the Abyss." _

"_Titans?" Our two 'sisters' inquired, confused. _

"_I haven't read about any titans in Norse mythology..." Phil commented, thoughtful. _

"_That's because there are no Titans in Norse mythology." Loki answered solemnly. "That does not mean they don't exist, though..." _

_I called his attention with a poke to his shoulder before signing quickly: _

_+There are Titans in Greek mythology. If some of the characters from one mythology are true, who says some from others don't exist somewhere too?+ _

"_So, you believe that these titans existed in the Abyss in some ancient times?" Jane summarized. _

"_It's more than that." Phil declared, looking carefully at my match's expression. _

"_I believe at least one still dwells there." Loki answered somberly. "Thanos, the Mad Titan, He-Who-Courts-Death..." He shook his head. "Even in Asgard he's but a myth, though I... we truly believe he does exist, somewhere in the deep recesses of the Abyss..." _

"_Something tells me that's not good." Darcy murmured. _

"_It's worse that you could ever imagine." Loki murmured. "The Mad Titan... there is a reason he is called that, even in myths. He believes Death is a true being, a goddess, and wants to court her... by offering her the souls of as many dead as he can manage..." _

"_Definitely insane." Darcy agreed. _

"_As long as he remains in the depths of the abyss the threat is minimal, especially as long as he remains ignorant of the reality of this realm. It could take him millennia to even think that there's a reason to want to find Midgard..." Loki went on. "But if he were to see us, see you... he might grow curious..." _

"_And that would be bad." Darcy guessed. _

"_We don't mean to offend any of those present, but we seriously doubt the chances of your realm if the Mad Titan were ever to set its eyes on it..." Loki said grimly. _

_For a few seconds not a word was said, and then. _

"_Then he will never see us." Jane announced after what seemed like forever. "The Window shall not be activated again until such a time that we can guarantee it will be Asgard on the other side. Until that point it will remain closed." _

"_So it will be." Phil agreed. "I will get the paperwork ready." _

Jane didn't like it, of course she didn't. But she understood the necessity of it. She also put all her effort into finding a way of sending the window to a specific place. That was the research which had kept her busy for over three years (with very little breaks, mostly forced by Darcy, whenever she thought her old boss was too close to burning out). Almost half of the interns gave up along the way, not able to keep up with the hard pace Jane set up; however, some remained, convinced that the answers would be found eventually, and the success would be worth all the hardships. I certainly hoped so, for Jane if for nothing else.

**xXx Jane's POV xXx**

It was quite early in the morning when I woke up. I was in my bed, which was actually quite rare, with how hard I'd been trying to find a way to open the window straight into Asgard I tended to crash due to exhaustion in whatever chair I happened to be sitting on, rather than go to sleep in my own bed, more often than not.

There had been so little new on that front in the last year that Loki had taken to distracting me by teaching me things from Asgard, arguing that I would need the knowledge when the time came... he was so sure I would find the way to pass my test eventually...

In fact, that was what I'd been doing before going to sleep the previous night, reading a notebook full of notes Loki had made for me, of the most important things I had to learn. I picked the little notebook from where it had fallen beside my bed, it was open on a page that spoke about the people who could gain access into other Realms, and those who needed the invitation of another. Royalty was number one on the list, followed by High Nobles, military leaders, trusted friends and favored subordinates (in that order).

The idea came to my head so abruptly I couldn't help but drop the notebook. There it was, the answer I'd been waiting for all along, right in front of me...

I could hardly focus on anything, going through the motions as I had the fastest shower, dressed, and without even stopping for breakfast (it would have taken too long for the coffee to brew) I rushed out of my S.H.I.E.L.D. issued apartment and to my sibling's...

When he opened the door Loki's hair was mussed and there was a kind of haze in his eyes that gave me a pretty good idea of what he'd been doing; that was, if the light marks all over his chest (he wasn't wearing a shirt and his pants were low on his hips) hadn't been enough to give me an idea. I didn't react to the obvious sign of their sex-lives, really, both Loki and Silbhé were very sensual individuals, and while they were also very private, when they were among those they trusted and considered friends, it wasn't hard to notice the signs. Phil never commented on it (though Darcy and their own private life probably had something to do with that); Darcy tended to make jokes about it, mostly simple and slightly suggestive ones, nothing offensive; Nat and Pepper were others who wouldn't say a word, same about the Banners (Bruce and Betty, both of whom worked for Stark); while Tony and Clint were the ones who were most likely to make dirty jokes, lewd expressions and such (but we all knew them and as long as they didn't forget there was a line, everything was alright).

"So, what brings you to our humble abode this early?" He asked, brow arched.

"I..." It took me a second to straighten my thoughts again, but once I did, they were racing all over again. "The answer... I found the answer."

He didn't say a word, but there was a shift in his eyes, in his expression, it was obvious he knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Why don't you come in?" He offered. "I'm afraid we don't have coffee, but I believe you've had my match's wonderful chocolate..."

I just nodded, my mind still working a mile a minute. I only half noticed when Silbhé stepped out of the room, wearing a robe over her sleep clothes, she threw a shirt to Loki without stopping before moving to the kitchen to begin working on breakfast. Rose came into the kitchen a minute or so later, dressed in her kiddie pjs and playing with the sash of her own robe (I could remember one morning when she'd told her father she wanted a robe like her mama's, because she wanted to be just like her mother... it was the first time I knew I wanted to one day have a daughter myself, a little girl, part me and part Thor...)

"Hey Aunty Jane..." Rose called to me as she climbed on her boosted chair beside me with help of some steps placed there just for her. "You gonna have pancakes with us?"

It hadn't actually been part of my plan, lost as I was in my own discovery, but I just couldn't say no to that sweet face. There were times when I regretted not being Rose's godmother, but I was still her family, still her aunt; and Darcy being her godmother had made her part of the family too, so maybe in the end things were exactly as they should be.

"Yes, I'm having pancakes with you." I nodded. "Is that alright?"

"Yes!" She nodded enthusiastically. "Papa makes the best chocolate-chip pancakes in the whole wide universe, did you know that?"

"No, I did not know that." I admitted with a smile.

Talking with Rose as we waited for Silbhé to fix the chocolate-milk and Loki to prepare the pancakes (with chocolate chips, just like Rose said), helped me get down from the adrenaline rush that had filled me since first becoming aware of the significance of the things written in that particular page of my old notebook; I also began paying more attention to what Loki was saying, probably in answer to something Silbhé had signed (he could sign as well, yet chose to always speak out-loud, as if to compensate for her not being able to...)

"She had the same nightmare again?" He inquired. "The same she's been having every other night for the last month? Yes, it's getting worse..." He paused as Silbhé added other things I couldn't see. "I know not if the dreams are portentous. Mother has the gift of foresight, but then again, she is not my mother by birth... Yes, the mutations, like Destiny... now that's an idea. Think Charles and Erik would be willing to have us over to discuss this personally?" He served the pancakes right then. "I'll phone them later. And depending on what they have to say we might have to warn S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. If this is a sign of things to come we have to be ready."

This time I saw Silbhé when she replied.

+We cannot just tell them our four-year-old daughter dreamed that thousands of grey-skinned humanoid monsters with golden circlets arrived in flying chariots and attacked the Earth!+ She signed almost in a rush, not allowing Rose to see her. +They will never take it seriously!+

"Phil and Darcy will, just because it's us." Loki replied easily. "But still, we're not going to tell them anything until we have confirmation of some kind, that's why I hope we'll be able to talk to Destiny, or even with Charles, one of them might be able to help. You're right that even if neither of us is a precog that doesn't mean Rose isn't. It could be a mutation, the way the magic manifests in her, or any other number of reasons. We need to be sure... especially if we have no way of knowing who the enemy might be or why they would even be coming to Earth..."

I wanted to ask more about what was going on: how long had Rose been having those dreams? How bad were they? Did they really think an army of monsters would be attacking us any moment? Why was that the first time I heard anything about it? Still, it was obvious neither of them wanted to alarm Rose, it must be bad enough for the girl to be having what she thought were nightmares, who knew how she would react if she learnt she was seeing the future...? So instead I decided to focus on other things.

After the overheard conversation between my siblings, breakfast was an easy affair. Silbhé went to help Rose get dressed for the day while I helped Loki with the dishes (I insisted); then Silbhé asked me to look after my niece while she and Loki got dressed. Kathryn was there to pick her up not long after that, ready to begin classes for the day (Rose might have been barely four years old, but she was, I imagined, far beyond her age group, having known how to read and write for almost a year already, and already working basic mathematics, vocabulary, spelling and such; she was also learning the basics of other languages... she was a little genius).

Our trip to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQs passed mostly in silence, it was until we got in the elevator there, that Loki finally spoke.

"We imagine we're going to your lab..." He commented.

"You know..." I realized it right then, it was true, he knew, probably had always known.

"We knew you would find the answer eventually, yes." He nodded with a smirk.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" I couldn't help but demand. "Is that why you gave me that little notebook in the first place?"

"To answer your questions in order." He stated. "You had to find the answer yourself, the test was yours, not ours. The notebook was actually Nightingale's idea, not mine, though I agreed with the principle that it would serve to remind you of the things I taught you of Asgard that were most important for you to remember."

"If you had said something, anything, I would have had an answer long before now..." I couldn't help but criticize him. "I wouldn't have spent the last year feeling so hopeless... like I might never be able to finish the god-damned task!"

"If it had taken you much longer we would have at least given you a clue." He admitted. "This was never meant to torture you sister. You must know, Nightingale and I care too much about you to do that. However, you weren't ready yet... you needed to be ready."

"Ready for what?!" I demanded.

"Asgard." He deadpanned.

+Asgard is not a nice place... not to outsiders like you and I... and even Loki in a way.+ Silbhé signed for me. +Odin will never willingly accept us, not as citizens of Asgard, and especially not as brides for his sons. Though your case is much harder than mine, because you would become not only a citizen and bride, but also Asgard's next queen...+ She made a pause, as if considering her words. +Odin has never liked humans, he considers us lesser beings, it's why others, Aesir, think the same, they believe anyone who isn't one of them is less. The worst kind of racism if you ask me, but anyway. He set the test in the very way he did with one thing in mind: making sure you would never be able to pass it.+

"But I can." I mumbled, confused. "Now that I have the answer I was missing, I can."

"It's one answer he probably never expected you to find." Loki admitted. "What I've been doing, teaching you about Asgard, wasn't exactly planned. I did it because I knew you would need the knowledge when the time came. And because I believed you would pass the test, sooner or later, regardless of the Allfather's wishes."

+Odin is convinced the Earth is far behind, at least compared to where we actually are.+ Silbhé added with a soundless sigh. +We might not have their level of technology, science, and specially the magic, but we're not as primitive as he insists on believing... that is his mistake, and will be his downfall. Once Thor is ready, of course.+

"Thor..." Until that moment I hadn't remembered he had a part to fulfill in the test too.

"That's another reason I didn't just tell you the answer you were missing." Loki pointed out. "In particular after you so easily were able to use the map of Yggdrassil and the Abyss I created for you to form an actual algorithm and guide the other side of the window to the area you wanted. Thor needed the time to be ready to claim the throne."

"And you believe he'll be ready now?" I asked, biting my lip nervously.

The last thing I wanted was to put more pressure on my love if he wasn't.

"I believe we're running out of time." Loki answered honestly.

I knew instantly he wasn't talking about the test, we had at least another half a decade for that; no, he was talking about Rose's dreams, about the possibility of an attack... he really thought it was something that might happen sometime in the near future... Maybe it was a good thing I had found my answer right then... I just hoped Thor was ready too. Something told me my almost-brother was right, we were running out of time.

We reached my lab right then, and then it was time to work. It took almost four hours to finish all preparations before the window could be activated; the first setting everything up (it'd been so long since we last used the window, a lot of it had been taken down at some point, to keep the equipment in the best possible conditions), the next three were mostly used for security protocols to make sure we would all be safe, no matter what happened to be on the other side. Phil arrived at some point during the preparations, same as Darcy; even Fury and Hill made an arrival shortly before we were ready to actually begin what I hoped would be our success.

"Initializing power sequence!" One of the technicians announced.

"Entering first set of coordinates." A second declared the moment the power reached the necessary level to begin working.

It had been one of the complications I'd come across after Loki had created the map of the abyss and Yggdrassil (much more complex than the drawing Thor had made for me that first week); one couldn't go straight to the wanted Realm, you needed to follow a specific route (like the pre-established paths of the Bifrost). In our case that meant the need to enter a set of coordinates, wait until the other end of the window had reached that point, then enter the second set of coordinates, and so on. Until we were done with all twelve sets. According to Loki some of the Realms could be reached with less sets, but Asgard was the most distant, the hardest to reach.

We had actually gone through the whole path once before, the problem came when we were unable to actually open the window once we were there. That was something I believed I'd found the answer, to... finally.

It took another hour for all the coordinates to go through and then, finally, we reached the last stop on the journey (so-to-speak).

"This is as far as we got last time..." I could hear the interns murmuring in the background. "Can we really get any further this time?"

I knew they would think me crazy with what I would do next, but it was the answer, it was my answer, and I wasn't giving up, regardless of how insane it might seem.

"The window is set in the final coordinates, Dr. Foster." The chief intern, Ian Boothby, announced out loud, eyes straight on the screens before him. "Should we try to force the window open?"

"Not yet." I told him.

That seemed to surprise him, but he did not question me as I left my place behind him (from where I had been supervising everything) to go stand right in front of the window's frame, then I began talking in my strongest and clearest voice:

"My name is Jane, Daughter of Foster, Woman of Science. I hail from Midgard. And in the name of my bond to Prince Thor Odinson, heir to the throne of Asgard, as his betrothed, I wish for this window to be allowed to open in the Realm Eternal." I made a pause to think over my words, make sure I'd said everything that needed to be said, then sealed it. "I am Jane, Daughter of Foster, Woman of Science, from Midgard to Asgard, this is my plea."

For a few minutes nothing happened. I wasn't keeping count of how many, though I knew some were. At some point murmurs began; like I was expecting a lot of the individuals in the room were reacting with disbelief to my actions. They might be the most loyal interns, having stayed even after all the old setbacks and failures, but still, no one could ask them to remain in limbo for their whole careers hoping for something seemingly impossible to happen one day... I would never ask them to do that. Still, I hoped it would happen, that their perseverance, their faith in me, as well as my own in myself, my work, my teachings, would pay off.

We were just reaching a point were I was beginning to believe nothing would happen... and then it did. With a sound akin to the hinges of a long-stuck door being pushed open, the window filled with light for the second time ever. A sort of swirl appeared in the middle, like a whirlpool or a tornado drawing us into its center, or growing until only the center occupied the Window itself. The different with the previous time the Window had fully activated was that once it was fully open we didn't find darkness on the other side, but color, and light. At first it was nothing specific, but after a few minutes more the image cleared up, revealing a huge stone room with gigantic golden columns on each side, all leading to a... rather odd-looking throne on top of a dais at the end of the room. A room that wasn't empty:

Standing before the throne, in a pose that made it obvious he'd just gotten up, was an old-looking man, with white hair and beard, a golden patch covering one eye (or the lack of it), wearing gold armor and a red cape. A few steps below him was a woman in a gorgeous sea-green, floor-length, long sleeved gown, with thick golden curls half twisted around her head in the simil of a crown, half falling down her back.

It took me a few seconds, but then, abruptly, a corner of my mind recognized who those two must be and Loki's teachings kicked in as I dropped into the best curtsy I could manage (wearing as I was, pants, a pretty but still comfortable blouse and a lab-coat over it).

"Your Majesties..." I greeted respectfully, though I was interrupted before I could finish.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Odin demanded. "Who are you?!"

I didn't even have time to feel affronted for all the preparation that was being wasted. It didn't matter how much I'd practiced a formal greeting if the man didn't allow me to finish it! However, what happened next was enough to brighten my mood considerably.

"Jane!" A voice called brightly.

I saw then someone else step close enough to be seen through the window.

"Thor!" I cried out in equal delight. "I did it! I finished the window!"

"So this is your Lady Jane then..." Queen Frigg commented with a smile.

"My lady..." I repeated the curtsy respectfully. "I am Jane, Daughter of Foster, from Midgard. It is an honor to meet you."

"Yes, you are my first-born's betrothed." The Queen confirmed. "The pleasure is all mine child. Long have I desired to look upon the lady that has promised her love to one of my beloved sons, and now holds his heart in her hands."

"You must know my lady, your son holds my heart as much as I hold his." I replied as eloquently as I could, though words weren't actually my forte. "I love him with all I am."

"So this is the mortal you intend to take as your bride..." Odin obviously did not approve.

"She is." Thor nodded immediately. "And she has passed the test you set for her father. She has opened a path between Midgard and Asgard, with no help from Heimdall or myself..."

"She has opened a window, however that will never be enough to allow her in here." Odin replied suddenly, with an odd glint in his eyes. "How can she be a proper Queen of Asgard if she cannot reach the realm she is to rule..."

The murmurs began all over again, we could all see how obvious his attempt at keeping me away from Thor, at refusing to accept I'd passed my test, was.

"Odin!" Frigg herself sounded pretty scandalized.

"You are being unfair father." Thor declared with growing anger. "Jane's test was to find a way to connect her realm and ours. It was never stated that she would need to travel that path!"

"Well, it's only obvious, isn't it?" Odin insisted.

"I believe the Lady Jane has passed her test." Frigg declared, in a tone that allowed for not denial or complaint of any kind.

"Perhaps." Odin still wasn't giving up. "She will still need to be able to get here, by her own means, if she wishes to fulfill that betrothal."

It looked like someone else might protest at any moment (or like Thor might begin cursing his father at any moment), when someone else, unexpectedly, spoke up.

"Excuse me." It was Phil.

"Who are you to address the Royal family of Asgard, mortal?" Odin inquired coldly.

"My name is Phillip, Son of Coul." He introduced himself in a manner somewhat similar as I had. "I wish to ask, Allfather. If Jane has already completed her test, and now only needs to get to your world. Does that mean she can be assisted in managing that part?"

"She can be assisted by anyone not residing in Asgard." Odin qualified.

Meaning not Thor, or Heimdall, or Frigg. He thought he was being so smart... he had no idea.

"I understand." Phil nodded, before smiling his secret I-know-something-you-don't, smile. "I believe that will be no problem." He turned behind him. "Am I right?"

"Not at all." Loki announced approaching, Silbhé by his side. "I like how you think, Phil..."

"Loki can do no magic!" Odin hissed harshly.

It wasn't a reminder, no, it was a challenge, he was challenging Loki to break away from his punishment... to break the deal that had been made five years before...

"True, I cannot..." Loki smirked wide as he signaled to his wife dramatically. "But she can."

Before any other word could be said, the two reached the Window's Frame, placing their hands on it at the same time; then Loki began chanting, in the same old language he always used to do magic, while Silbhé pushed the magic forth.

It took a while, but eventually we could all see the shimmer on the Window's surface.

"There..." Loki announced, without moving his hands from the frame. "It won't hold for long, so I suggest you hurry up."

"How does it work?" Phil asked, worried.

"Just imagine a 'looking glass'." Loki suggested.

"Like in 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'?" Darcy inquired, joining Phil.

"Precisely." Loki nodded. "Now Jane, if I were you I would hurry. Nightingale can only channel so much magic, and it's not like we practiced for this..."

I didn't stop to doubt them, didn't hesitate at all. Instead I simply walked towards the frame and once there stepped right through, never looking back.

The sensation was like nothing I'd ever felt before. It was like stepping into ice-cold water, with the consistency of jell-o... or something like that. There was no ground beneath my feet, no walls, I was standing on empty air, stars flying all around me, being born, living, dying, all in a matter of fractions of second. And then I finished taking the step, and once again there was something under my feet; marble, or something of that style rather than the plain concrete of the lab in New York, and there were golden pillars around me...

"I'm in Asgard..." I muttered, marveled.

"That you are..." I heard Thor's voice, suddenly right beside me.

That made me react instantly as I spun around, throwing my arms around Thor's neck before I even fully processed his presence. With the same boldness I also pressed my lips against him in a short but no-less-intense kiss. It didn't actually last long, separating a few seconds later to the whistle of some I recognized as Thor's friends in a corner, out of view from the window.

"Welcome to Asgard, my love..." He whispered into my hair, seconds later.

A moment later I saw Lady Frigg standing behind Thor and just like that mortification filled me. I had just committed a serious faux pass, kissing Thor like that, before witnesses and before being married. But the moment I saw him again, could touch him again... I just couldn't help myself. Laughter continued all around us, I was sure more than one was aware of how I must feel at that point, Loki in particular (as he'd been the one to teach me about what was 'right and proper' during a betrothal); looking over my shoulder I could even see Silbhé shaking in silent laughter. The two had finally stopped touching the Window.

"You're ruining all my hard work, brother!" Loki actually complained from the other side of the Window/Door. "All my teachings, all my training, thrown out the window the moment the lady lays eyes on you!"

"What can I say brother..." Thor replied cheekily. "I'm just that good!"

Their laughter just grew louder at that.

"Power levels down to 10 percent..." Ian's voice came from the lab, out of sight of the Window, suddenly. "I don't think we'll be able to keep the window working for much longer Dr. Foster."

"Very well." I called back to him. "Write a report about everything and then get it to Stark, Ian. If possible get Luka to go with you so you both can clarify any doubt he might have. Maybe he could grant us a better power source next time."

"And when would this next time be?" Phil asked suddenly, in full focus of the window. "How do you plan on getting back Jane?"

"I will get Jane back to you, Son of Coul, in due time." Thor assured him. "Until then, you can be assured she will be well looked after."

"Very well." Phil nodded.

"Power levels down to seven percent... beginning sequence to power down." Ian announced.

"Don't forget to invite us to the wedding!" Darcy called brightly.

It was the last thing we heard before the window closed.

Odin didn't look particularly happy to have me there, but I decided to pay him no mind, focusing on the people who actually seemed glad that I was there, like Thor, and his mother. Lady Frigg actually kissed my brow, giving me her blessing to marry her son (apparently she'd done the same after Loki introduced Silbhé to her). After that she insisted Thor show me around some (she probably realized it wasn't a very good idea for Odin and I to remain in the same room for long).

We left the Throne Room then. On the way out we met with Thor's friends, all of whom acted friendly enough when greeting me, even Sif didn't seem as passively-hostile as she'd been five years before in Puente Antiguo. She insisted that I change clothes for something Asgardian, so I wouldn't stand-out as much while Thor showed me around. With help from one of the Queen's handmaidens I got a pretty golden strapless knee-length dress.

Once that was finished Thor guided me out of the palace where, from a wide platform, we could look over all the Realm. The tall metallic-looking buildings, stone streets, bright-green gardens, forests and mountains in the distance, and a river running not far away, into the sea I could see reflecting the sky miles away.

"Welcome to Asgard, my beloved..." Thor murmured, kissing my knuckles on the hand he held.

"It's beautiful..." I whispered, marveled by everything.

"What would you like to see?" He inquired.

"Everything." I answered, breathlessly.

Right then, for the first time, I understood my own future: I was going to marry Thor, and I would one day be the Queen of Asgard... one day that amazing world would be mine, my home...

* * *

So the invasion is coming, Rose is having portentous dreams, Jane is in Asgard and things are about to get hairy!

What did you think about the punishment Loki and Nightingale had to endure this time? I needed something new, and I thought of a different approach to the 'mute' thing I handled in Devotion. Odin is evil... (You will notice I really, really don't like the guy... I won't kill him though, or at least, I won't have Loki do it, I would never put that burden on him).

Next chapter: Odin's final attempt at changing Thor's decision of bride will force his hand, the Chitauri are coming and Earth must be ready to fight! (Also, some X-Men cameos, again, though the most important characters this time will be ones I've never used before! Hope you'll enjoy it!)


	3. Monsters

Since I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow, and I realized you probably wouldn't like it if I waited until after the weekend to update this, I decided to do so tonight. I hope you'll excuse any possible mistakes. I just finished writing the ending this very morning and didn't get much time to check it over.

Still, I hope you'll enjoy.

* * *

**Monsters **

What makes a monster and what makes a man? Is it what's on the outside or what is inside?

**xXx 3rd Person POV xXx**

That particular morning wasn't like Jane ever imagined spending a morning after finally being reunited with her beloved; and she had imagined it plenty of times, in many different ways. Of course, none of those scenarios ever included there being an attack on Asgard, from outsiders, on the very day of said reunion.

It was awful. Especially as it was that very situation that made Jane realize how much she was not a fighter. She wasn't like Sif, or Silbhé, or Natasha or Darcy... she was just not a fighter. She was a woman of science, by the spirits! And yet... after finally realizing the full-scope of the future that awaited her having passed her test, she just couldn't abandon the people, her future people, either. Whether they knew or not who she would be someday in the future, she had to find a way of helping them. And she did...

_She stayed in the palace with Lady Frigg and her handmaidens during the actual battle. The moment the end of it was confirmed and victory for the Aesir announced the Queen was on the move, looking for her husband and son, Jane right behind her. _

_Odin had not a scratch on him (though that was probably because he had never been truly in the thick of the fight, leading from the behind). Thor was a different matter entirely, as he'd been at the front of the armies. Jane had arrived right as a healer was trying to see to his wounds, not being very effective as Thor kept insisting that she should see to his men first. _

"_Could you leave a med-kit for me here?" Jane asked as she approached them. _

"_My lady?" The healer was obviously confused. _

"_Excuse me." Jane smiled. "My name is Jane, Daughter of Foster. I know some first-aid. If I can have the materials I can treat this stubborn-ass's wounds while you go handle those of his men." _

"_But the Prince..." She obviously wasn't sure, especially not knowing Jane. _

"_It's alright Caoimhe." Thor assured the healer. "Lady Jane is my betrothed, and I trust her." _

"_Of course." She nodded immediately, handing Jane the bag with the supplies. "Please forgive my doubts, Lady Jane..." _

"_I have nothing to forgive, Lady Healer." Jane said in return, smiling kindly to the woman. "You are just trying to do what's best for him, and I am very grateful for that. I know how stubborn Thor can be, and this way everyone wins." _

_The woman nodded, smiling at the kindness of the girl (at least compared to her) before her. Caoimhe had heard that the Prince intended to marry a much younger lady, a human woman of science; just like she'd also heard of Prince Loki binding himself to a Midgardian himself. Unlike some Aesir she held no contempt for humans or mortals in general, she simply did not know them. However, seeing the girl in that moment, the worry she held for her beloved, Caoimhe couldn't help but believe her prince might have made a good choice... _

_Very little was said while Jane treated Thor's wounds. She had been truthful when saying she had training in first-aid. It was an idea Silbhé and Darcy had at some point years before, for them to get certified as paramedics, so if something ever happened and they were around they could actually help. Jane was all for it, and some others had joined as well. Phil had eventually passed a proposal, with Fury's backing, that at least one person in every area in S.H.I.E.L.D. had to be a certified paramedic, more if possible, in case of an emergency (he himself had gotten certified to make an example). _

_And Jane did not stop there, after she was done with Thor some soldiers arrived, telling them Odin wished to see him so they could go over the battle. Thor agreed, though not before getting a couple of guards to look after her. The two men expected their new princess to retire for the palace right away, but she had a very different plan in mind. Instead they ended following her around where the wounded had been laid. She joined the Asgardian healers, helping wherever she could. Even though Jane was no 'goddess of healing' that only meant she couldn't heal with magic, she was pretty good with everything else (Loki had taught her a lot not just about the history and politics of Asgard, but other things too, included how healing might be different in the Realm Eternal from what it was on Earth). _

_She didn't stop until she was too tired to stay on her feet. And then Sif found her (Thor worried when he went looking for her after the long talk with his father and the war council and couldn't find her anywhere). _

The guards had left her with a 'Good night, princess...' and everyone who saw her that morning addressed her with the same title and deference.

"I don't understand..." Jane murmured as she sat for breakfast.

"What don't you understand, my lady?" Fandral asked as he sat beside her.

"That!" Jane replied sharply, pointing at him with the hand she wasn't using to mix the Asgardian equivalent of coffee. "The way you address me, the way everyone addresses me. My betrothal with Thor hasn't even been made official, yet everyone is calling me princess this morning."

"It actually started last night." Volstagg offered, unhelpfully.

"A lot of people saw you yesterday, walking around, helping the wounded." Sif explained after taking a sip of her own drink, a tea of some kind. "And those that did not see you, have since heard about it. The soldiers that escorted you around also made sure to tell anyone who asked that you were Thor's intended."

"But I am... well, not a goddess." Jane didn't even know how to explain it. "Shouldn't they want one of their own as Queen?"

"I know that's the impression the King has given you, but to be perfectly honest, most Aesir don't care for the most part." Sif admitted with a small shrug. "They already see the Royal Family as different from them. They care instead about other things, the things that show you care, about them and about Asgard as a whole. Like Thor leading the army from the front-lines rather than the back, fighting and taking wounds just like any other soldier. Or you, making rounds by the beds of those injured, healing those you can, asking them if they're alright. Making sure they get good food. That's the things they care about..."

"That's the things that make a good king, or queen." Hogun added from the other side.

"You just won over your future subjects, and like you yourself said, your betrothal hasn't even been made official yet." Fandral declared in an impish tone. "Congratulations princess, you've imposed a record!"

They weren't joking. It had taken one evening for the people to love Jane. Even Odin had to admit that there was simply no way he could force his son to marry another after what had happened, not when the people were already calling Jane, princess. It made the scientist happy, knowing that at least some actually liked the idea of her marrying Thor... However, that didn't meant that Odin was just about to give up, not in everything.

**xXx**

At dinner Jane joined Thor and his friends when they chose to share the meal with the soldiers recovering from the battle. Everyone recognized her, addressed her respectfully, as princess and milady and such. At some point she'd stopped feeling embarrassed and self-conscious and instead put Loki's teachings into practice, nodding her head at people as she passed, and answering greetings in the best way possible, she also did her best to talk the way they did, the way she'd been hearing Loki (and Silbhé, in her own way) talk for years, even Rose spoke like that most times! It wasn't as easy for her as it was for them, but it wasn't as strange as she'd once thought it would be either, a part of her already half used to it, after five years listening to three people talking like that all the time. Also, there was something about the old-style speech-patterns and the cadence in the voices that made Asgard seem more tangible, more real rather than less.

It was when Jane was hearing someone describe the enemies for the umpteenth time or so (always in a slightly different way) that she noticed something:

"Grey skinned humanoid monsters on flying chariots..." She repeated with a gasp.

"Lady Jane?" Fandral asked, worriedly, being the first to hear her.

"Thor, I think there's a problem with your bride." Volstagg added, somewhat quietly.

Thor grew alarmed instantly as he noticed how fast Jane had paled, and he didn't understand why. Jane hadn't reacted like that when the battle began, or when she'd seen Thor at the end of it, not even to all the gruesome wounds some of the soldiers had had.

"Grey skinned humanoid monsters on flying chariots." The woman of science repeated. "That's how that soldier just described your enemies."

"It's one way of describing them." Thor nodded.

"And lets not forget their armor, including that awful thing on their heads..." Fandral added.

"Like a golden circlet..." Jane finished for him in a half-absentminded tone.

"Exactly!" Fandral nodded enthusiastically, before realizing something. "Wait, how do you know that? You weren't in the battle, were you?"

"Jane...?" Thor was wondering the very same thing.

"No, I wasn't, I was in the palace..." Jane murmured, not fully paying attention.

"Then how..." Fandral insisted.

"Rose dreamt them..." And it was when she said those very words, that Jane fully realized the magnitude of everything. "Oh Spirits!"

"What?!" No one was expecting that. "Rose? Who's Rose?"

"Little Rosie?" Thor was the only one who knew exactly who Rose was. "How could that be?"

"I don't know, not even they know..." Jane began babbling.

"How can Rose possibly be dreaming of the chitauri, Jane?" Thor insisted. "Even here in Asgard there were believed extinct until yesterday!"

"I don't know!" Jane was on the edge of being hysterical by that point. "I don't know how, but she's been dreaming about them, for months! She... she's been dreaming an attack on Earth..."

"What?!" Yet again there was shock.

"We need to go talk to Mother and Father." Thor announced instantly.

The blonde took her hand and lead her away, not even stopping to offer apologies to the men they had been sharing a meal with, Thor's friends making rushed excuses and following them as fast as they possibly could.

The group were practically running by the time they reached the War Room.

"Father!" Thor called loudly, not even stopping for pleasantries.

"Thor!" Even Queen Frigg seemed surprised by the sudden arrival of the group.

"What is the meaning of this Thor?" Odin demanded.

"Excuse me Father, but something of great importance has come up." Thor answered.

"What is it?" Queen Frigg worried instantly.

"We must prepare a legion of Warriors." Thor stated right away. "There is reason to believe that the chitauri will be attacking Midgard."

"What?!" Everyone in the room was shocked by that.

"Where does this information come from?" One of the council members wanted to know.

"That is irrelevant." Thor stated evasively.

"It is not." Odin stated. "We must know if this source is to be trusted."

"A precog has been dreaming an invasion from the chitauri for months now, the visions becoming progressively longer and coming more often." Jane answered, spinning things so she could hide the identity of the person.

"Precog?" A woman inquired.

"A mutant with precognitive abilities." Jane clarified, remembering what she'd heard and read in some papers in recent years. "There are several in my world. The most powerful known is called Destiny, she hasn't failed a prediction since she first manifested decades ago."

"A human?!" Odin's derisiveness was obvious. "You are coming to me demanding for a legion of soldiers to be prepared on the word of a human fortune-teller?"

For long seconds no one replied to that, truth be told, no one was expecting such a response.

"I know who the young ladies she speaks of, are, husband." Queen Frigg intervened. "Both the mutant Destiny, and the Gifted she spoke of before. In fac, I also know that they both have received the same warnings. The attack is coming to Midgard."

Thor nodded, thankful for his mother's backing, before turning back to his father.

"It cannot be done." Odin shook his head.

"What...?" Once again, no one was expecting that.

"But Father..." Thor specially couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"The Warriors must be prepared in case the chitauri choose to attack our home again." Odin supposedly explained his reasoning. "We cannot afford to weaken ourselves at this time."

"And you would leave Midgard alone when they need us most?" Thor asked in disbelief.

"If they wish to survive they must be able to fight for themselves." The King said simply.

"We are supposed to protect them, I have sworn to protect them!" Thor practically yelled. "We are supposed to guard over the Nine Realms. How can you tell us we must leave one of those realms now to fend for themselves? Against an enemy they cannot possibly defeat on their own? It's insanity father!"

"Have care how you speak!" Odin hissed at him.

Thor looked as if he'd been slapped.

Jane had been fighting, with all her will, to keep her composure, to follow the rules of etiquette Loki had taken such care teaching her. But in that moment, something inside her snapped.

"You are a coward, Odin Allfather!" She snapped at him. "You claim to be all-powerful, king of the gods, but when there is someone out there who truly needs you, you would ignore them, simply because you consider them non-important, simply because they're mortals and not gods!"

"Be careful of your words, girl!" Odin snarled at her. "The peasants may call you princess, but right now you're nothing more than a mortal girl... you're nothing..."

"Neither are you." Jane spat back, refusing to back down. "Not where it really counts."

Something seemed to snap in Odin right then as he got on his feet, everyone too close to him flinching at the aura of power forming around him. Thor's friends couldn't help but tremble themselves, while they would always stand by Thor and the woman he'd chosen to bestow his love upon, the idea of having to stand against the king of the gods for them was not a prospect either of them would ever find even remotely enjoyable.

"She is right..." Thor's murmur broke the tension as surely as one of his lightning bolts cutting down an enemy... "You are no longer the man I used to know, the father I loved, the warrior I respected... or the king our people need..."

Odin was completely silent at that, obviously not having expected that, at all; though, on the other hand, if one had turned to look at Frigg, had been able to read into the look in her eyes, they would have seen, would have realized... she knew, she had always known.

"I, Thor Odinson, Friggson, call on the Right of Succession to be approved, by this Council and the Higher Powers." Thor began reciting in a very official manner. "I offer myself, wholly and unreservedly, to take on my birthright, to serve the Peoples and the Powers as the next King of Asgard, the Realm Eternal and Guardian of the Nine Realms of Yggdrassil. So mote it be."

The next surprise came in the form of Jane who, in a move never before seen, or imagined, went to take her betrothed's hand and, after a nod from him, added her own vow:

"I, Jane, Daughter of Foster, of Midgard, as Betrothed of Thor, offer myself to the Peoples and the Powers to serve and rule by the side of the next King of Asgard, the Realm Eternal and Guardian of the Nine Realms of Yggdrassil, as his equal, his match. So mote it be."

Such a vow had never been pronounced before, never before had a Queen stood by her match as he took the throne, never as an equal, and never one not Aesir-born... it did not matter. The Higher Powers still reacted to the vows pronounced:

It all happened suddenly, fast and slow in a way that couldn't fully be explained. A sort of cocoon of light and power enveloped Odin abruptly but briefly; and once it was gone the changes were obvious: the Allfather was missing the markings of power on his armor, his cape, and Gungnir; he also sagged quite visibly. That same light then enveloped not only Thor but Jane as well. When the light fully cleared Thor was in full battle regalia, which somehow looked more magnificent than ever before, runes on that same armor had changed, showing his status; his winged helmet sat on his head and he was holding Mjolnir on one hand, Gungnir suspended on its own beside him; while with his other hand he was holding one of Jane's... a very changed Jane. The 'Woman of Science' was wearing a floor-length beautiful dark-azure raw-silk gown with an elbow-length, loose left sleeve and no sleeve on the right, instead a loose strip of cloth fell softly down that side; she was also wearing beautiful polished-steel and platinum armor around her chest, on her shoulders and forearms; platinum slippers were on her feet with armor guards around her calves; and a platinum crown with a big, teardrop-shaped blue diamond and half a dozen star-sapphires at the sides in various shades of blue ran across her forehead. In the hand not entwined with her match's she held a beautiful polished-steel round shield the length of her forearm with a platinum swan with wings spread in the center, elaborate ancient runic script around its edge; and one word in particular engraved right bellow the swan: 'Svanhvit'... It meant 'swan-white', it seemed the Valkyries had chosen who would lead them in Ragnarok...

The reaction of every council-member, war-leader and Eihenjar the moment the new Thor and Jane were revealed was immediate: they dropped on one knee, left arms crossed over their chests, right hands in fists, pressed against the floor, heads down. Sif, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg went next, bowing to the two deeply before dropping on one knee respectfully. Lady Frigg (Queen no more), did not have to kneel, though she did bow deeply to the two, a bright, knowing smile on her face. Odin did not react at all, but no one paid him any mind, he had no power anymore...

"Hail Thor Krighammer and Jane Svanhvit!" Sif called in a loud, strong voice. "Hail the King and Queen of Asgard!"

"Hail!" The response was immediate and from every single individual in the room.

Odin allowed himself to pretty much drop into his chair in defeat, knowing he'd just lost any and all power and authority he might have once possessed; and it hadn't been in due time, amidst great celebration, a passing of the torch, as he'd always imagined. No, instead his son had called on the Higher Powers to pass the throne to him, because he recognized in a way Odin himself had not (or at least had not wanted to) that Odin was no longer what was best for Asgard... maybe he hadn't been for a while...

"Messengers will be sent across the realm with the announcement." The Head of the Council announced. "A huge feast shall take place tonight."

"Feasts and announcements can wait, councilman." Thor informed him in a tone that allowed for no reply. "We have a war to win." He turned to General Tyr. "General, I need you to assemble a group comprised by your best, most trusted and open minded soldiers. Have them ready to depart for Midgard at first light."

He understood that it was night already, and those who weren't still recovering from the most recent battle were most likely still celebrating the victory (or nursing a hangover, by that point). Still, some things couldn't be postponed, especially when a realm was at risk.

"I understand why the first two specifications your majesty, but why the third?" One of the few women in the council inquired, intrigued.

"I need to know that those who will march with me in this battle not only will be able to fight by my side, but also by the side of the Midgardian Warriors who shall be joining us." Thor explained in simple words.

"Midgardian... warriors..." The mere idea was foreign to them.

"He is not wrong." Jane offered kindly. "Midgardians might not live for the 'glory of battle' the way Aesir people do, but there are some who are well-versed in war, some that either thanks to training, powers, high-tech, or a mix of those, have chosen to devote themselves to the protection of those who do not have the means to protect themselves. They will fight for their home, when the chitauri arrive, they will fight with all they have."

"Shouldn't we tell them to stand down when we arrive?" Another voice inquired.

"Would you stand down if you were told to?" Jane asked with a brow arched. "Would you stop doing all you can to protect your own home, because a foreigner told you they can do a better job of it?" She shook her head. "I mean no insult ladies and gentlemen, so please, do not insult those I consider my people as well. Earth is home to the humans, and humans will fight for it, they might not have the means to win on their own, but that won't stop them from trying."

"We're not going to Midgard to take over the defense of the Realm, but to aid those already willing to fight for it." Thor added in further clarification.

"As you wish, my liege." Tyr finally nodded, bowing respectfully to his new King and Queen. "I shall have our best warriors ready by first light."

Tyr left then, followed by most of the soldiers who had been present, each already offering names of those they thought would do well in the task appointed by their King.

"What about your formal coronation?" The same curious councilwoman from before asked. "And your wedding to the Lady Svanhvit?"

"Those details we can settle upon our return." Thor answered immediately.

"Our?" There were several shocked by that detail.

"My bride shall accompany me, of course." Thor said as if it should be obvious. "Midgard is as much her home as Asgard is now."

It was not unprecedented for Queens to march to war with their Kings (some said it helped boost morale for the troops, even) but not exactly common either. It had been centuries, millennia even since anyone had last seen Queen Frigg in battle regalia. Still, Thor was right, Earth was still Jane's home, and even without being a fighter, she would do what she could to protect it... she had a feeling the shiny shield granted to her by the Higher Powers would be useful at some point... or at least she hoped so.

"We shall be married and crowned upon our return." Thor continued with his declaration. "With m... our brother, Loki, his match: Nightingale, and their child: Rose Alfdis. My brother and I shall look over Asgard together, as it was always meant to be..."

Whatever secret Machiavellian plot Odin might have had in mind when first taking baby Loki in all those years before, whatever plan he might have concocted as he repeatedly told his sons they were both born to be Kings (which he had later pushed aside for whatever the reason), Thor's mind had been long since made up. He would fulfill the word his father had once given (even if Odin himself never intended to fulfill it, or at least not like that), Loki and he would rule together. Maybe they couldn't both ascend to the throne, but they could sure still rule together. Thor would see to it, he vowed to himself.

No more words were said, they simply weren't necessary. Everyone retired to their chambers for the night. They would need rest as the next morning promised to be quite eventful... and that was without counting whatever might happen once they arrived to Midgard...

**xXx**

That morning was supposed to be like any other... except it wasn't. It was obvious from the moment Luka opened his apartment's door after hearing the doorbell ring, all the while still fixing up his tie, smoke-grey vest unbuttoned over his perfectly ironed white shirt; his smoke-grey slacks are perfectly pressed as well, though still missing the belt. Still, all those little details stop mattering the moment his eyes lay on the woman standing at the apartment door: alabaster skin, with enough marks to show some age, though it's impossible to specify the age; hair so devoid of color one would expect it to belong to someone very old, except for how smooth and strong it is, falling down the visitor's back in a long, tight braid; the eyes are covered by dark sunglasses even indoors, but he knows already they make no difference, she cannot see... not the way most people see anyway; she's short (though not as much as his wife) and wearing a high-necked ankle-length pale-blue dress with off-white gloves and a long scarf of the same off-white color, with random designs in the most vibrant shade of blue covering her head.

"Good morning Maverick..." The woman greeted him kindly.

The spell of her serenity was broken by the next voice to be heard from beside the door:

"Hey Lokes! Are we interrupting breakfast?" A second newcomer asked.

As if the first-woman on her own hadn't been enough, her companion was a beautiful, statuesque woman with curly blonde hair arranged to fall stylishly down her shoulders, peach skin and wide 'innocent' bright-blue eyes. She was dressed in a pale-blue ¾ sleeved, crisp blouse, a tanned-leather knee-length skirt, with vest and low boots to match, as well as white stockings.

Loki just blinked, surprised enough at their presence he didn't really know what to say.

"You don't mind if we come in, do you?" The blonde asked, not really waiting for an answer before letting herself in. "Irene and I have come all the way here to meet you and the least you could do is offer us coffee..."

"Do we even have time for coffee?" Loki finally managed to ask, closing the door behind them. "Things must be serious enough if you've decided to come all the way here... from wherever it is you were last..."

"Westchester." The blonde answered only the second comment. "It was Irene's idea, after the dreams started, said we needed to be closer... Charles and Erik of course did not mind. Even if some of the students don't like me much... it's not like I really care..."

They both knew she did, just like he still cared about certain things related to his not-fathers (both of them) even though he knew it was an exercise in futility; some things apparently just couldn't be helped, good or bad.

"So things really are as bad as we feared?" He asked next, wanting yet dreading a direct answer at the same time.

Because when a precog decided to drop their usual mysterious and word-twisting, mind-numbing act to actually be direct about something, you knew something was terribly wrong. Either the world was screwed, or you were... and considering recent events, the possibilities for it actually being both were awfully high.

"You were supposed to visit us yesterday..." Irene whispered, a strange (though not for her) cadence in her voice as she spoke. "You, and the Nightingale and the little Child of Chaos... you were supposed to come visit, come talk to me... but then, there was an unexpected event. The kind of thing that can never be planned for, happened, and you dropped your other plans. I waited, and you did not come."

"So you chose to come here instead?" Loki guessed yet again. "That cannot be good."

"You know what is to come." Irene said in return. "The Little Rose has seen it, repeatedly, just as clearly as I have..."

"She has, I know." Loki admitted grimly. "That was the reason for our visit. We want... need to know if those dreams are just dreams, or portents..."

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to?" Irene inquired, her head tilted to a side.

"I don't understand how something like that could be!" Loki began babbling as he got nervous. "I have no such gift. Neither does Nightingale, so how..."

"Your Mother... the Queen..." The precog reminded him.

"I...She's not..." He couldn't even bring himself to say it.

"Blood matters not, she remains your mother." The white-haired ageless woman pointed out. "Sometimes magic can form ties stronger than those of name or even blood..."

He knew that, of course he did, it was why he still called Frigg mother, even after learning about his adoption, it was why he still saw Thor as a brother, and why Thor had begun calling Silbhé sister even before anyone other than the two of them knew about her. Bonds so tight blood and name mattered little when compared to them.

"We need to focus." The blonde reminded them all. "The visions."

"You have anything to add about those?" Loki inquired, anxious.

"Just one thing..." Irene went dead-serious when she spoke again. "What the child and I have seen... it is not of a possible future to come, it's not possibility but a fact... and it's not coming, it's already here..."

As if on cue a building-wide alarm began blaring from hidden speakers inside and outside of the apartment, a loud attention grabbing noise, which only stopped to allow the same phrase to repeat over and over again:

"Level 7, Defcon 2! Level 7, Defcon 2!"

Silbhé rushed out of Rose's bedroom but a second later, fully dressed in a long-sleeved, round-necked, slightly translucent black blouse, ankle-length dark blue skirt and black low boots, her auburn hair falling in loose waves down her shoulders; the young woman was also holding her daughter tight against her, in a forest green sleeveless dress with an off-white high-necked, long sleeves shirt underneath and tanned-leather booties.

Before either woman or child could ask any question regarding the newcomers, or the alarm still ringing all around, a voice they recognized as belonging to Maria Hill: Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. took over the speakers, giving more specific instructions.

"All Agents and Consultants Level 7 and above report to your posts; Agents and Consultants Level 6 and below as well as support personal, follow the evacuation protocols in order. This is not a drill. We are under a Level 7, Defcon 2 situation... I repeat..."

"What does Level 7, Defcon 2 situation mean?" The blonde woman inquired, curious.

Loki turned to look at the precog, knowing the already had that information but she stayed quiet, she wanted to hear him say it in reality and not just her visions:

"Level 7 means that the situation involves all personnel Level 7 and above, which happens to include Nightingale and I." Loki elaborated. "It also means that the problem is likely supernatural in nature, as those are the ones that tend to involve the highest ranking agents. Defcon 2..." He let out a breath as he allows himself to accept that part. "It means we... S.H.I.E.L.D. is at war..." And it was then, right as he said the last word, that he fully processed the connection with what Irene had said just before: "The invasion!"

Silbhé's eyes grew wide in shock as she turned to look at her daughter for the shortest fraction of time before she was in a rush once again.

In seconds she was standing once again in the foyer with the other three, having added a tanned leather jacket to Rose's attire, a dark-leather duster to her own ensemble; she was also holding a knapsack with some clothes, money, first-aid kit and other essentials in case of an emergency; the usual small, semi-translucent cloth-bag as always was hanging from her waist. She also had a small whistle hanging from a leather-cord around her neck, so she could use it to call for help or send messages in Morse code in case of an emergency (a gift from Darcy, which had been used a handful of times throughout the years) and, unknown to anyone but her husband (and perhaps Irene), she had her crystal dagger secured in the small of her back; as well as a set of a dozen knives hidden in various parts of her body.

"What about you?" Loki asked half-absently the two women as they all exited the apartment.

"You mean you want us to leave just when the fun is starting?" The blonde asked coyly.

Loki would have snapped at her, tell her an alien invasion was no fun... but he was pretty sure she already knew that; it's not like she'd never been in a battle for her life. That was just how she was... he was reminded of Anthony Stark right then...

"We're coming with you." Irene stated quickly in a confident tone.

Loki didn't try to change her mind, knew there was no point, he just hoped they were choosing to go because they had something that might be helpful... an invasion, from thousands of monsters come straight out of the abyss was something not even S.H.I.E.L.D. was prepared to, and unless they got a miracle, or a dozen, Loki seriously doubted they could all make it out of the mess alive, much less unscathed.

Unknown to him, there were, in fact, miracles on the way, more than one even.

**xXx**

It took all of Nightingale's and Loki's will to let Rose go, but it was necessary. They left her with Kathryn, who would be joining other agents (mostly half-retired ones) who would be in charge of keeping the families of the remaining active assets, safe. They felt a little bit better when Irene assured them the X-Men were on high alert themselves and, if things got really bad, they could get a team to take the civilians to the manor, where the security measures had been upped since Stryker's and his military team's invasion and kidnapping of around half a dozen children. That hadn't ended well... though then again, not many people knew something like that had ever happened. The people in the school because they guarded their secrets very carefully, and the military because the last thing they needed was to admit they had an insane, racist bastard who was willing to hurt children to prove his own superiority. The only reason any of them knew was because Darcy had connections to the mutant community (though she'd strictly refused to explain how that was) and had told them about the things that had happened, really happened in the early 2000's.

Silbhé and Loki entered the main conference room on the helicarrier (supposedly the best place to lead a possible war from), closely followed by Irene and her blonde-haired partner. In the room were already the highest ranking SHIELD members: Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Phil Coulson, Jasper Sitwell, Victoria Hand and Anne Weaver; the last three attending through video-conferences, as they were in charge of keeping three of SHIELD's most important bases secure (The Fridge, the Hub and the Academy). Aside from them were also those Fury called the 'Avengers Initiative'. The group had never been activated as such, but were still considered a last resource in case of an emergency (which most had believed would come to pass when the mutants declared war on baseline humans); the group was comprised by Tony Stark (Iron-Man), Bruce Banner (Hulk), Steve Rogers (Captain America), Peter Parker, Harry Osborn, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton. Finally, the group was rounded up with the addition of some other high-ranking Agents, like: Agent 13 (Sharon Carter), John Garrett, Darcy Lewis-Coulson, and three of Phil's own team: Melinda May, Grant Ward and Skye Coulson (recently 'adopted').

"Who are these people?" Maria Hill demanded the moment he saw the two unknown women. "Why have you brought unknown into a top-secret meeting?"

As if to answer the question the blonde woman gave a step forward, except instead of speaking it was as if her whole self rippled, clothes and pink skin alike disappearing, being replaced by blue skin seemingly decorated by scales in darker shades of blue; her hair was blood red and her eyes a flashing gold color.

"Why the hell have you brought a mutant on board?!" Jasper Sitwell demanded hotly.

"I'll give you a one-time-only pass for insulting one of our most valuable allies, Agent Sitwell." Surprisingly, it was Darcy who spoke in defense of the older woman, her voice cold as ice and hard as steel. "We are fortunate to have the X-Men on our side, and you would do well to remember that. Everyone here who believe themselves to be better than mutants for whatever the reason, would do well to keep that in mind."

It looked like Sitwell was about to reply, probably not liking getting orders from someone much younger than him, when Fury did so first.

"Agent Shadow is right." The Director stated, showing his support by giving Darcy the place and authority she deserved. "After the mess that was former General Stryker's actions back in '03, we were, indeed, fortunate, that Professor X and his people did not hold it against us, and were willing to work with SHIELD to ensure the protection of humans and metas alike."

"Nah, Charles has always been that nice to everyone, even those undeserving of his kindness and compassion; you were lucky Magneto did not turn his fury on you all, like he did on those idiots who dared use one of our own against us with that thrice-damned cure!" The blue-woman commented flippantly.

Indeed, Alcatraz in '06 was another mess that was better not to mention, especially considering how much of a failure the so-called 'cure' turned out to be.

"So, what brings you here then, Mystique?" Hill inquired stiffly.

It was obvious the Deputy Director wasn't fully comfortable with the woman there, with either of them but especially Mystique. It was to be expected, after all, everyone in the room knew well enough what Mystique was capable of. After her escape from jail in California, there was a time when no one knew where she'd gone, until she'd resurfaced, years later, in Westchester, NY, of all places and, to everyone's surprise, the recently revealed Professor X, aka Dr. Charles Francis Xavier, had presented papers declaring her as his sister, which allowed him to grant her sanctuary in his school. The place had been given such status after the 'purity war' that had followed the mess in Alcatraz, which had caused a continent-wide hysteria as individuals armed themselves with the 'cure' and practically hunted down anyone they so much as suspected of being mutants. When it turned out the cure wasn't permanent, which was showcased by Magneto's return and protection of a couple of mutant girls who had been running from a group of hunters in a small forest. Then, when one of the 'hunters' had shot himself accidentally and died, things finally began changing (humans were less quick to use a weapon that could hurt them too, and worse even). In 2009 the President had finally declared any and all 'hunters' as criminals, the 'cure' as an illegal weapon, and the use of it on unwilling subjects (whether they be children or adults, meta or not) as unconstitutional, same with the so-called MRA.

It had been after all that, that SHIELD had approached Professor X looking for an alliance, a move that might stop something like the 'war' of the last three years from repeating itself. Phil Coulson himself had lead the group willing to negotiate, and had gotten the surprise of his life upon seeing Professor X flanked by none other than Magneto. The surprise had only grown when learning that it wasn't actually the first time they worked together, they had before, in 1962, among other dates that wouldn't mean as much to most people. Also, most mutants seemed to believe that those two leaders working together was how things were supposed to be (not that Phil was blind and couldn't see that the men were more than just allies, there was an ease in their interactions, a closeness... it was quite obvious they were partners in every sense of the word).

"Destiny said we had to visit the Little Rose... so we did." Mystique stated with a shrug.

Everyone turned eyes to Loki and his wife at that, wondering what exactly was going on.

"Recently Rose has been having dreams, of monsters and battles..." He shook his head. "At first we thought it was normal, you know? She's a child, with a great imagination and... she actually knows the kind of beings that exist in the universe. However, it continued for so long, weeks, that we began to worry. We were planning on driving to Westchester to visit Charles and consult with him on the possibility of Rose having precognitive abilities."

"And does she?" Ward asked, unsure.

He, like Garrett and Sitwell, did not like mutants; though he seemed to be better at keeping his distaste from others.

"We never went." Loki continued. "Jane had that moment of inspiration and we accompanied her to finally finish the Foster-window..."

"Which then became the Foster looking-glass..." Darcy quipped.

"Yes, something like that." Loki nodded absent-mindedly. "By the time we were finished with all the paperwork it was too late to make the trip to North-west New York, so we had decided to leave it for later. And then this morning, they showed up..."

"The little Rose is, indeed, a precog." Destiny interfered right then. "She's seen what I've seen, even if she couldn't understand it."

"And what have the two of you seen?" Fury wanted to know.

"An attack." Destiny answered, once again adopting her deeper voice and the strange cadence. "An army of creatures long believed lost in the darkness shall resurface, they are an army bred for a single purpose: invasion, in favor of one who desires nothing but power, who creates nothing but destroys everything. He fancies himself in love with death, and that's exactly what he will bring, to this world, and every other one, unless he's stopped, once and for all. The only way to stop him, is for all powers to stand together..."

"All powers..." Darcy, Phil and Loki murmured at the same time.

"We need to begin making calls." Sitwell stated.

"Phones are not going to be enough." Skye dared step into the argument that seemed to be about to break out right then and there.

"No one asked your opinion girl..." Sitwell snapped in disdain.

He really held against the young woman the fact that she'd once been Rising Tide, many not from her team did... which was ironic considering she'd hurt no one more than those from her own team, and yet they'd long since forgiven her...

"We did." Darcy, Phil and Loki stated in unison.

It took a couple of seconds for Skye to regain her confidence, but the look in her 'adopted parents' eyes helped, so with a sharp nod she pulled out her own laptop, placed it on the interactive table (which made what was on her screen, appear in all the screens) and began typing like crazy, bringing up things.

"Phones won't be enough, but we can place a call to all our allies, through the web, using SHIELD code so they know who is calling and how serious the situation is." Skye explained as a program popped up for that very purpose.

"Do it." Hill ordered.

"You don't need to call the X-Men." Mystique clarified.

"And why not?" Hand asked, eyes narrowed. "Will they not help?"

Mystique actually had the gall to laugh at that (or at least that was how they saw it).

"That's not it at all." She stated after what seemed like forever. "You don't need to call them, as they're already here."

As if on cue the intercom rang and they could all hear the voice of Agent Triplett, calling from the bridge:

"Director, sir." He said, half awed, half unsure. "There is a blackbird out there, signaling us. We have visual confirmation that it sports the symbol of the X-Men. Incoming communications state that their leaders which to speak to you at your earliest convenience."

For a second no one answered, it was as if Fury was taking a moment to fully process what had just been said, then he finally spoke.

"Allow them in."

Nothing more needed to be said, or done. Just a second later, in a flash of dark light, blue smoke and the smell of sulfur an odd-looking figure materialized just briefly before disappearing again, though it/he left behind not one but two individuals: Professor X, on his elegant but sturdy and practical vibranium chair, and standing beside him: Magneto. The truly shocking thing, however, was the fact that they were, both, in uniform in that moment.

**xXx**

They made it to New Mexico (on Destiny's instructions) in a matter of hours, right as something that looked like lightning yet had no storm-clouds to be originating from, began appearing on the sky, and on its converging point, a swirling, crackling hole began to open.

Quinjets filled with SHIELD Agents and assets landed beside the Blackbird that carried the X-Men. There was no time for introductions, but very specific orders were given by everyone in SHIELD gear that the X-Men were allies, as were the metas in their company, and whoever else might be on their way.

The X-Men, used already to fighting, split up in two teams rather easily. On one were: Rogue, Wolverine, Iceman, Pyro, Shadowcat, Colossus, Archangel and Blink; the other was formed by: Cyclops, Phoenix, Storm, Nightcrawler, Beast, Havok, Quicksilver and Scarlet-Witch.

Destiny would be staying with Fury and some others who'd descended from the helicarrier, yet were not actually warriors; while Mystique chose to stay close to Professor X and Magneto, who planned on helping, though without actually getting in the middle of the fight. Loki and Silbhé would be with them too, as the later wasn't ready for that level of confrontation, and the former relied on his magic to fight most of the time, and he didn't have it in that moment.

After a few more minutes the attack began. What were probably a hundred or so ashen creatures wearing armor and riding flying chariots; their weapons were like spears, except they could not only pierce, but also shoot very powerful energy charges, the kind that only supersoldiers (like Captain America), individuals with very advanced armor (Iron Man and Colossus), and self-healing metas (Spider-Man, the Goblin, Mystique, Wolverine and Rogue) could recover from after being shot.

The fight was hard, and it seemed to be lasting for a lot longer than it actually was. Magneto was having trouble controlling either the chariots or the weapons from the enemies, making others think that either the metal couldn't be magnetized, or it wasn't metal at all. Also, the Professor had been strictly forbidden by his partner and sister to attempt any more telepathic contact after the first two seemingly caused great pain to the mutant. It appeared that the alien's minds worked so differently from a human's that the professor couldn't comprehend it, couldn't fully grasp it, and his efforts caused him pain.

A moment came when a number of Chitauri in their chariots crashed above them, the remains falling like a meteor. There was no way Magneto could do anything, busy as he was keeping a number of aliens already on the round at bay, same with Loki. So Nightingale closed her eyes briefly, prayed to whatever Higher Power there might be, and then through her arms out and up, mentally calling the one word she couldn't pronounce.

The whole area shook at the force of the impact. It was that which finally called both Magneto's and Loki's attention, and they could see the young auburn-haired woman, trembling, arms up, as if she were physically holding the flaming debris above them; and it was the same in the end, as it was her magic and will that had formed and was holding the dome-like shield protecting them.

"Stark!" Darcy barked an order into her comm.

She, Phil, the rest of his team, as well as Agent 13 were in charge of leading the SHIELD Agents fighting (mainly to make sure they worked well with the metas, did not get killed, or in the way of an attack). Darcy was the first to notice what was going on with her friends, and called someone she hoped would be able to help.

In the end, Spider-Man and the Goblin were closer; with some team-work they managed to get the remains of the aliens and their transports off the dome before it completely flickered off. Neither of them asked what it had been, where it had come from, nothing at all, they just went back to the fight. Which had just been made worse by the appearance of a huge, flying whale-like creature going their way. It was actually what had kept Iron-Man's and War-Machine's attention, who, together, managed to take it down.

Around the place, the rest of the Agents and metas had just managed to take down the rest of their enemies, when a cackle of the portal above became dark omen.

"This isn't over yet..." Professor X stated almost blankly.

One did not need to be a genius to know he was channeling Destiny in that moment. Fury himself had begun screaming orders into his comm, which were being either adapted or simple echoed by others until they reached everyone on the field.

"That was just the advance party..." Magneto muttered grimly as he went back to his partner's side. "More will come... a lot more."

Doubt came them, not of his words, everyone knew instinctively he was right; the doubt was in how they would survive... and then, as if in answer to those questions, and their accompanying prayers, there was a flash of light. Sand flew up violently, almost forming a cylinder around a point where everyone with supernatural senses knew power was growing.

"What the...?" They were all in shock.

"Asgard..." Loki breathed out, eyes wide in surprise.

"What?" Everyone close turned in his direction immediately.

"The power coming from there, it's Asgardian... and royal..." He elaborated.

What he didn't dare say (he couldn't be sure, as he was getting the sense second-hand from his match and she had never used those senses while in Asgard), was that he believed the royal power was coming from his brother, from Thor and... there was something else, a hint of another power, but he couldn't pin-point it. It felt royal as well, yet like nothing he'd ever known; he did not have any other siblings, and his father would never get involved in a Midgardian battle so... his mother? Or was the royalty of some other realm getting involved? The Trickster God hadn't the slightest idea, and that bothered him. Even if he wasn't a True Warrior, not the way most Asgardians were, at least; he was still one in his own way, and a strategist above all. To be able to create the best strategy it was necessary to have all the information, know all the variables, be prepared for any possible outcome... in that moment he was obviously missing something, something huge, and that was never good. He couldn't plan if he didn't know what he had to work with from the start!

Finally, the sand settled again. The first thing all the human fighters became aware off was enough to make them do a double-take: Warriors: two dozen Asgardian warriors in full armor and carrying weapons; they were being lead by Lady Sif and the Warriors Three.

"What is going on?!" Fury demanded loudly as he went to face the Asgardians.

"By Orders of Their Majesties, the King and Queen of Asgard, we present our weapons to aid in the defense of Midgard and its people." Fandral announced in his most formal tone.

"King and Queen?" Phil blurted out, he had a feeling they were missing something. "And can we speak to them?"

"Of course you can, Son of Coul..." A voice called.

A part of Phil, and of everyone else in the know, was already expecting for Thor to be King, what none of them were expecting (even though, in hindsight, it was only logical) was the woman walking by his side, one hand on his arm, the other on the beautiful metal shield, decorated by the regal swan, she looked so much like a goddess and a Warrior-Queen, it took a second or two for those who knew her to realize it was, indeed, her.

"Jane!" Darcy practically screeched in her shock.

It looked like several of the Asgardian Warriors were going to stop Darcy from reaching Jane when the taller brunette began running in that direction but a raised hand from the shorter woman in the elegant battle dress was enough to stop them.

"She's my sister in all but blood, and I love her as I would someone I'd grown with." Jane stated calmly but with an undercurrent of authority.

Darcy did not notice it, busy as she was embracing Jane and marveling at her attire; but other people did. Jane was Queen, and not only in name, the Asgardians truly followed her...

Loki and Nightingale joined the group then. The Trickster god couldn't help his surprise when seeing none of the usual disdain or dislike from the Aesir around them, instead there was respect, loyalty, even some admiration... Loki had no idea what was going on.

"Brother! Sister!" Thor called boisterously, embracing them both instantly.

"It would seem there has been an unexpected change in the status quo..." Loki commented, looking around them. "If you are King now..."

"It's complicated..." Thor murmured.

It wasn't, not really; but he didn't want to explain what had really happened, what Odin had said and done that pushed him into taking fate in his own hands... even though his wasn't the most tactical mind, Thor just knew the Midgardians wouldn't take it well if they knew how little the 'former' Allfather actually cared.

"We are in charge now." Jane said helpfully. "And that's all that really matters right now. We're here to help in this battle."

Loki nodded, understanding that the matter was to remain private. So he made to step back, return to his post, a corner of his mind screaming at his own uselessness in the battle.

"Where are you going now brother?" Thor called, stopping him in his tracks.

"More Chitauri will come at any moment, we must return to our posts, do our duty." Loki told him calmly, taking his wife's hand in his.

"I believe there are other duties you should take." Jane declared easily.

Loki and Nightingale just looked at her, not truly understanding.

"I made you a promise brother, five years ago, remember?" Thor asked solemnly.

There was no answer, nor time for one, not really. Thor reached for Loki's neck, or more precisely, the band around it, with one hand (the one Jane wasn't touching), while Jane used her own free hand to pull free Silbhé's scarf and touch the band around her own neck. The sound of metal seemingly breaking apart was loud enough to echo in the desert, even though such a thing shouldn't have been possible. A sound akin to a long, melodic note being hummed rose around the couple, at the same time a rush of golden power enveloped them, while they couldn't help but reach to their now bare necks in unison...

"Nightingale!" Loki cried out, she being the first thing on his mind as soon as his mind cleared and the implication of things registered...

"My Maverick... my love... my Loki..." Were the auburn haired's first words since her voice had been sealed five years prior.

"My Nightingale..." Loki repeated, tears shining in the corner of his eyes.

It had been so long... that even with all the challenges made and taken, with all the promises, there had been moments when he'd feared he might never hear that voice again. It didn't mean he loved his match any less, such a thing would be impossible, still, it had hurt. Which was precisely the point, of course. And yet, in that moment, hearing his name from her lips once again, the endearments meant just for him... no moment could have been more perfect, even the threat of the upcoming battle couldn't sour it.

As if the enemy had granted them a moment to breath, and it was finally over, chitauri began coming out of the portal like insects right then.

"Well, time to have some fun!" Loki announced, obviously thrilled at his change in situation.

With a snap of his fingers the well-worn human clothes he'd been wearing changed into his usual green and black Asgardian attire, along with golden armor; another snap of his fingers changed his match's clothes into something better suited to who they were meant to be, than who they'd been the previous five years: a short, violet battle-dress, high boots and golden armor; in his personal opinion she looked absolutely stunning. Then again, she was his wife, so most would probably consider him biased.

The battle should have been far more violent, bloody, tragic... the loses, the chaos, the pain. There were so many more enemies... and yet, the number of allies had also grown, with individuals who were each worth their weight in precious metals and jewels; and then there was the change in Loki and Nightingale with the restoration of what Odin had once taken from them.

So while the battle was, in many ways, worse, it was also better. From the very start Darcy had no doubt that they were going to win.

**xXx**

Indeed, they won. The greatest surprise, especially for the Asgardians, came in the aftermath, when they watched the petite girl they knew to be the wife of one of their princes, kneel beside one of their own, who was holding some bandages given to them by the human medics, trying not to bleed out right then and there. They watched the girl kneel beside him, place both her hands less than an inch above the man's wound, and a white-gold glow come from them. Then, as she got back on her feet and moved away, the Warriors could only watch their brother-in-arms pull the bandage away in shock, revealing blood-stained skin, yet no wound at all. Nothing was left of what, just seconds before, had been a near-fatal injury, not even a scar...

The shock was almost more than what they could take. They loved their new Queen, there was no doubt about that. No lady, aside from Sif, had marched with the Asgardian Armies to battle in more than two thousand years, yet she had done it. She was no Warrior-Lady, as she herself had stated as the trops were readied early that morning, but she was still more than willing to march with them, and with her intended. Then there was what she had done the other night, for men she didn't know, had never met, she just wanted to help, and she had. It was why they'd all begun calling her princess. And then, to learn that the wife of their other prince, of Loki... one they'd so long treated either with disdain or indifference; to learn that as small and human as she might be, she carried inside a power Asgard had rarely seen: the power of a blessed healer. They couldn't help but think that maybe the Allfather had been wrong in standing against those unions, those matches, maybe that was how things were meant to be. Asgard could certainly only benefit from it all, not just in the power the princesses had, but their hearts... and if on the way they managed to pull all the realms together? All the better.

After the battle was done, the portal was sealed by the joint efforts of Loki, Nightingale, the Scarlet-Witch and a group of young adults that called themselves the 'Secret Circle' (they refused to give their names or their address, stating that if they were ever really needed Phil knew how to find them, though they did show interest in seeing Loki and Nightingale again).

By the afternoon, teams were working on disposing of the alien remains; on specific instructions of Thor, no remains would be kept for study, it was simply too dangerous. It was the same reason why the studies of and experiments on the Tesseract had been cancelled years prior. Loki at some point even commented that, had they continued, they might have ended calling the chitauri's attention earlier, which wouldn't have been good. They hadn't had the same allies back in 2011, and Thor definitely would have been in no position to help.

When evening came Stark insisted on celebrating. After all, they'd just saved the world! Probably the universe considering that, according to what Thor had revealed, the Titan wouldn't have stopped with Earth... so the families had been flown to New Mexico, where Stark somehow managed to get everything to make a party (they couldn't really leave the area until the mission was officially over, even though Loki had insisted there would be no more enemies).

In the end even Phil and Darcy thought it was a good idea. What better chance would there be for so completely different individuals as the SHIELD Agents and the X-Men to hang out together and get the chance to strike up friendships?

And so the families were reunited. Soon there were a lot of introductions being made, hands being shaken, cheeks kissed, that sort of thing. Rose and Kathryn were at the back of the group, and the moment the four-year-old laid eyes on her parents she let go of her aunt's hand to rush to them, like any little girl is expected to do.

"Mama! Papa!" She cried out in obvious delight at seeing them again. "I saw you!"

That made them stop short, silently praying their little one did not mean what they thought she did, yet already knowing it was a useless hope.

"You're a Warrior papa!" Rose went on, not noticing her parent's shock. "A valiant Warrior who fights monsters, just like uncle Phil!"

The God of Mischief was deeply horrified by the fact that his little daughter, his baby as he still saw her, had seen all that; what she might have felt if the battle had ended in any other way than it actually did. And yet, his Rose was so joyful, and so proud of him! How could he do anything but respond in kind? There would be time later to consider the implications of her seeing that battle, the things she might end up seeing in the future; in that moment all that mattered was making sure Rose had no reason to be anything other than absolutely happy.

"A valiant warrior indeed..." He agreed, pulling her into his arms, kissing her hair. "And what about your Mama!"

"Mama is a beautiful princess!" Rose announced, as if there were no other possible answer. "I want to be just like my mama someday..."

"You already are, sweetheart." Loki assured her with another kiss.

"Really?" The girl seemed absolutely thrilled by that fact.

"Really." Loki nodded with a big smile.

Right then, Nightingale joined them, she'd been helping a few individuals who were still injured and whom she'd somehow missed earlier. But she was finally done.

"Hey... my Little Rose..." She whispered, voice barely above a whisper, as she was still getting used to hearing her own voice again.

"Mama, you can talk!" Rose crowed with joyful laughter.

It seemed that, somehow, even with whatever she had seen, the child had missed that detail. Hopefully that meant she wouldn't always have to see everything that happened, she might be spared the worst parts of what may yet come in the future.

"I can talk, lovely love." Nightingale agreed.

She took her daughter from her father's arms, holding her tightly against her chest, before spinning around. The laughter of the two rose, entwined together like the most perfect harmony. And as others heard it, heard them, they couldn't help but add their own laughter to it, or at least smile... it seemed like that night, joy was contagious.

Eventually the two had to stop spinning, and even then the laughter went on for a while. Such was the joy they were feeling in that moment. At being together, alive, and whole...

"Sing mama!" Rose called brightly. "Sing, sing, sing!"

"Sing my Nightingale..." Loki agreed, holding her from behind. "It's been so long since I last had the joy of listening to your songs... not since our wedding night..."

Nightingale smiled serenely at him, placing a short but intense kiss on his mouth, another on her daughter's brow, before the perfect song entered her mind. She began singing there, with no music, and no plans; but they weren't needed either:

"I'll give my all or not at all

There's no in-between

I'll give my best, won't second guess

This feelin' deep in me…"

"You make me want to love you

With every breath I'll love you, (oh) endlessly

I'll give my heart, give my soul

I won't hold back, I'll give you everything

All of me, completely…"

At some point, shortly after Nightingale began singing, conversations began dying down, until the only sound was that of her voice, her song. The auburn-haired did not notice; she could feel her beloved's joy at hearing her sing again and that, joined to her own joy at once again being able to express herself in the way she knew best... it caused what felt like a neverending loop of love, joy and something else she couldn't describe... it was perfection.

And all that emotion filled her voice her music, and from that, it touched every single individual present, sharing all that perfection, completeness, with everyone present.

"You fill me up with your love

Oh I just overflow

When we touch, can't get enough

And I want you to know…"

"You make me want to love you

With every breath I'll love you, (oh) endlessly

I'll give my heart, give my soul

I won't hold back, I'll give you everything

All of me, completely…"

It was the perfect song, because every single word was true. She lived, breathed by that song, it was a deep seated part of her and, unknown to her, it was also a part of most of the people in that place: men and women who lived to protect others from threats, whether they were human, meta or even of individuals from worlds most did not even know existed; individuals who had been hurt, betrayed, rejected, time and again, and yet they never gave up, they never stopped trying. Each of them knew their story, each of them felt the song.

"You make me want to love you

With every breath I'll love you, (oh) endlessly

I'll give my heart, give my soul

I won't hold back, I'll give you everything

All of me, completely…"

Light humming marked the end of the song; at which point the auburn-haired young woman let out a sigh, laying against her husband's chest, deeply exhausted for reasons she could not fully comprehend. The last time she'd sung (like Loki said, on their wedding night... not counting the few verses she'd whispered to him right before her voice was sealed by Odin), she hadn't been able to infuse her voice with magic. She wasn't even conscious of having done it in that moment, but she had, and the effects were clear, in the soothing energy, the peace that could be felt all around. To such a point one would believe they were all a big family reuniting after a long time to celebrate some anniversary, rather than several dozens of Warriors who had just survived a battle for the well-being of the universe.

"Lady Nightingale, indeed..." Volstagg declared, approaching the singer.

Loki arched a brow at his brother's friend, wondering what he intended; while his match was almost in a haze, her eyes barely open; though at the same time she was hyper-aware of every single person around, as she began realizing that there had been more to that song that simply the words coming out of her mouth.

"Your voice surpasses by far that of any elven songstress I might have heard in centuries, my lady." Volstagg told her, bowing in respect to her. "I could almost declare your voice as beautiful as that of the fair Lady Tinúviel herself..."

There was a murmur in the background, individuals who knew who Volstagg spoke of (though Nightingale herself did not, and Loki felt as if he should but couldn't place his finger on it).

"Asgard is indeed fortunate, to be able to welcome such beautiful and talented ladies as its new princesses." Hogun offered his own praise from a side. "Princess Jane Foster, Lady of Science; and Princess Nightingale, the Lady Songstress..."

"Hail!" Several voices called in unison, turning the praise into a toast.

The night went on from there, a celebration that lasted until the sun began rising into the sky once again; and might have gone on even more; but most of those present were human and needed a minimum amount of sleep (Stark's craziness notwithstanding...).

**xXx**

The group were back on Asgard after lunch, the following day (or more like brunch... considering the time they all went to sleep). A benefit of having fought in the dessert was that there were no material or civilian loses to worry about. There had been casualties, both to injury and even a handful to death, but they were much, much lower than if the battle had been fought, for example, in the middle of Manhattan!

The royals were riding horses, with Rose riding with her father. The little girl was very excited by the new place, especially when hearing in was her dad's 'other home' (he, as well as Nightingale, would always see Salani Manor as their first home).

The Aesir gathered on the streets to received both their royals and the valiant warriors who were the first to fight a battle in another realm in a very long time, centuries even! Stories were going around almost right away, and the family was especially delighted that the talk wasn't just about the Asgardians themselves, but also about the humans who had fought with them, their ability, and the gifts some of them possess. Asgard would come to learn that Midgard wasn't beneath them, and after them, the rest of the universe, and that was a good thing.

When the procession made it to the courtyard before the Asgardian palace a number of stable-boys approached them, helping the royals get off their mounts. It was in that moment that most people became aware of Rose, as Loki had kept her half-covered with his cape for most of the ride (and she'd loved the whole thing because it was her papa, he was a prince, and had a cape!). The murmurs began all over again. There were few Aesir-children, and there hadn't been one in the palace since Loki had left his childhood behind, centuries before.

Lady Frigg, General Tyr and the Council of Elders were in the Throne Room to receive them.

"We have returned, safe and victorious." Thor called ceremoniously. "The battle is won, the enemy defeated, Midgard is secure and all the Realms will now know that it has good, strong warriors protecting it, and that Asgard takes very seriously its duty to watch over and protect all who might need us."

"All those are, indeed, good news, Your Majesty." The Head of the Council nodded.

"News of victories in battle are not all we've brought." Jane did her best to imitate the style the Asgardians had when talking, but it wasn't exactly her forte. "This is a victory as well, in ways, I believe, far more important than any battle. For on this day a family has been reunited, and that's how it shall stay, from this day forward."

"Those are, indeed, good news, my lady." The Councilman repeated, only hesitating for a fraction of a second before speaking.

Done with the ceremonial stuff, Lady Frigg seemed to decide she no longer needed to keep protocol and rushed down the steps from the throne to embrace her children, one by one, holding them tightly for a moment and kissing their cheeks; their wives as well.

"I'm so glad to see you again, Nightingale..." The Queen mother said, voice full of emotion. "I know your last visit wasn't the best..."

"I too, am happy to be back, my lady." Nightingale assured her softly but just as emotively. "I could never hold against you what happened in may last visit. I said it then, and I say it now, it was my choice, to stand by my match, and take whatever the Allfather chose to deliver. It was painful, to spend the last five years deprived of my voice; I never realized how much I would miss it and need it. It wasn't just about the singing, though I definitely missed that, but things as simple as greeting someone, telling my family I love them, laughing... And yet, regardless any of that, I have no regrets. Because the love I have for my match goes beyond any of that." She smiled brightly. "I told Loki that day that we would prove that we loved each other for more than my voice and his magic. And we did..."

"You did..." Frigg agreed, still holding his youngest daughter-in-law. "Few times have I seen a love so pure, so absolute, as the one yo and my son share. May your joy only grow as time passes, and your reasons for happiness multiply."

They all knew that in most cases that meant a wish for children, but those same people also knew Nightingale would never have any more children; Rose's birth had been miraculous enough, still, that would not stop the joy from coming.

"Now, I would like to meet my granddaughter properly." The Queen announced. "I haven't seen her since she was but a day old."

"Of course, Mother." Loki nodded.

It was the truth. Lady Frigg had visited Midgard one last time the day after Rose Alfdis had been born, to make sure that both mother and child were alright, she'd also given her blessing to both, for which they were all thankful.

Loki was actually surprised when Rose did not fight to stay behind her mother's skirts (he had conjured a beautiful light lilac gown, goddess-style, with a white sash, for his beloved). It had never been easy, when she had to meet new people; her parents did not know if it was shyness, or something else, but she always needed to be convinced to meet anyone new. Except in that moment. In that moment the four-year-old practically jumped from behind her mom and straight into the Queen mother's arms.

"Grandma!" She cried out in delight.

And then her parents realized, Rose had no reason to treat Frigg as a stranger, because she wasn't, the girl had 'known' the older woman, they probably had known each other, in a way, for a while.

"I'm so happy to finally have you here, Rose Alfdis..." Lady Frigg said with a bright smile.

"Will I get to meet Grandpa too?" The child asked next.

No one answered her, truth was, no one knew how to.

And yet, somehow, Rose seemed to see that as an answer as she jumped out of her grandmother's arms and to a side of the Throne Room, where no one had noticed Odin standing in the shadow of one of the majestic columns.

For several seconds no one moved, or talked. All eyes were on the four-year-old child with thick red curls to her shoulders and big eyes that were a mix of red, orange and black. It was precisely those eyes that made her parents worry, they were so much like Loki's Jotun ones, and it was no secret how much Odin despised those creatures...

It was those eyes that won. For a few seconds Rose said nothing, just standing in front of the old man in her cream and dark red dress; she looked at the former King with an intensity that belied her age, as if she could look right through him, or into him... and maybe she could. Then, after what felt almost like forever, she raised her arms.

"Up." She said simply, in a way she hadn't, not even to her own parents, in over a year.

Odin looked at the girl for a couple of seconds more, before he reacted practically instinctively, bending down and scooping the child into his arms. Rose smiled brightly at him before locking her small but strong arms around his neck, holding him as tight as her small body was capable of. As if she were afraid he would bolt.

"What is your name, little one?" Odin asked quietly.

He still seemed more than a bit confused by the love and acceptance the girl was showing, made him wonder if perhaps she did not know the things he had said and done, to her own family even... his own family...

"Rose Alfdis Salani Hveðrungr." The girl announced proudly, before thinking it over a bit and correcting herself. "Rose Alfdis Lokidottir!" She laughed musically. "My mama is a beautiful princess and papa is a valiant warrior!"

"They are, indeed..." Odin agreed quietly.

"Are you gonna be my Grandpa?" Rose asked, then began babbling. "Papa told me years ago that we had to stay with Auntie Kathryn and Auntie Jane and Auntie Darcy and Uncle Phil for a while, until Uncle Thor said we could come here. It was nice, I have a big family. I love my family! And now the family is bigger! And I'm gonna have lots and lots of friends! And the magic! I love to see mama and papa doing magic!" She stopped her tirade abruptly, looking at the man still holding her up, straight in the eye. "So are you gonna be my family too? You are papa's papa, right? Are you gonna be my Grandpa?"

"Do you want me to be your Grandpa?" He asked, not quite believing what was happening.

"Oh yes!" Rose nodded repeatedly almost hyped up. "I've never had a grandpa, you know? Mama's papa died when I was really little. And I really, really want to have a grandpa!"

"Then I will be your grandpa little one." Odin finally agreed.

"Yay!" Rose embraced him tightly again, before motioning for him to put her down.

As soon as Rose was on her feet again she was running to her mom. Nightingale got on her knees immediately, taking her daughter into her arms.

"Mama, mama... I have a grandpa!" The four-year-old announced with obvious delight.

"That you do, sweetheart, that you do..." Nightingale whispered lovingly.

She didn't exactly trust Odin, she probably never would, not after what he'd done both to her and to her husband; but she was willing to give him a chance, one more, for her daughter. She didn't say a word, but she was quite sure that the looks not only she, but her match, their siblings and even the Queen Mother were directing to the former King was enough of a warning.

"Sing for me, mama?" Rose asked suddenly.

It was an unexpected request, and for a few moments Nightingale could only look at her child, confused as to why she was asking.

"Grandma and Grandpa have never heard you sing, and I want them to." The girl explained as if it were only obvious. "I want everyone to know my mama can sing real pretty!"

Nightingale had never been able to deny her daughter anything, and that certainly wasn't going to be the first time. So the young woman got comfortable right where she was, sitting on the floor, with her little girl on her lap and family around her before she began singing. It wasn't one of her old songs, the ones she'd created before losing her voice; no, it was a new one, one she'd created in recent years and thus, had never been heard. Perhaps it was only right for her to sing it right then, when Rose had been the one to ask her to.

"In my daughter's eyes I am a hero,

I am strong and wise and I know no fear,

But the truth is plain to see,

She was sent to rescue me,

I see who I wanna be,

In my daughter's eyes…"

"In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal,

Darkness turns to light and the world is at peace,

This miracle God gave to me,

Gives me strength when I am weak,

I find reason to believe,

In my daughter's eyes…"

"And when she wraps her hand around my finger,

Oh, it puts a smile in my heart,

Everything becomes a little clearer,

I realize what life is all about,

It's hanging on when your heart has had enough,

It's giving more when you feel like giving up,

I've seen the light,

It's in my daughter's eyes…"

"In my daughter's eyes I can see the future,

A reflection of who I am and what will be,

And though she'll grow and someday leave,

Maybe raise a family,

When I'm gone I hope you'll see

How happy she made me,

For I'll be there,

In my daughter's eyes…"

Nightingale ended her song with a long hummed note, as she always did when she was singing with no music in the background.

At some point during her singing Rose had turned to her mother's chest, holding onto her tightly. She'd heard her little girl half-whisper half-squeal that her mama had made a song about her, her delight obvious to everyone in the room. Then she'd quieted and settled to listen.

"I love you mama..." Rose whispered quietly, kissing her mom's cheek before burying her face in her mom's neck.

"I love you too baby, very much..." Nightingale whispered back, placing a lingering kiss on her daughter's forehead.

Loki reacted to the moment, kneeling beside two of the most important women in his life (the other two being his mother and his oldest daughter, Hel), kissing each of them tenderly before embracing both.

At some point the Council and General Tyr had abandoned the room, as had most of the Eihenjar, recognizing that the moment was a very intimate one, and only meant for family. Still, most had stayed just outside; they'd heard their youngest princess sing, heard the words she spoke, sensed the feelings behind those words.

For more years that could be counted, Asgard had followed Odin's ideals. Including those about mortals (especially Midgardians) being lesser beings, not fully evolved, living in the dark ages, incapable of truly comprehending that the universe was much bigger than just them. And yet, in the last handful of years, all those notions had been taken down, one by one. For if those two young ladies who had earned their places as their newest Queen and Princess Consort were an example of what Midgardians truly were... then the universe was in for a serious wake-up call, and that probably was a good thing.

They had heard the gossip coming from the Warriors that had fought on Midgard recently, of the Humans who'd fought side by side with them. Some had been normal humans and yet, there were stories running around about others; some called themselves Avengers, others X-Men, but they all seemed to have something that made them more than human, some kind of power that allowed them to rise above the rest, and they all used that power to fight, to protect...

Maybe keeping themselves away from that realm had caused them to miss the moment when such individuals first appeared, maybe they had always been there and they just hadn't noticed. In any case, Midgard was ready to stand on its own, as one of the Nine Realms, and with their new King and Queen there was no doubt Asgard would back them up every step of the way.

Eventually the family moment passed. The Council and Eihenjar went back in and after some talk it was decided that, since the people were already in the courtyard, why not make the official announcements already?

So, with that in mind, the group made their way to the main terrace, with view to the Main Courtyard, where the number of people waiting had grown since their arrival. They were all expectant; most knew already there were new Royals, but were still waiting for the official announcement, and for the celebration they knew would follow.

Traditionally it would have been the King stepping down who would announce his successor (pretty much like was intended in Thor's almost-coronation, before all the madness began). But such a thing wasn't possible, since Thor already was King, and technically Odin hadn't named him, he had taken the power for himself, or the Higher Powers had granted it to him, depending on how one chose to see the situation. So Odin couldn't announce him. The Head of the Council of Elders could have, but Jane believed that would mean giving them a bit too much power, and Loki had agreed with that, so Thor had decided to throw protocol out the window and caution to the wind as he stepped forward himself.

"People of Asgard! My People!" He called in his booming voice, yet somehow softer and at the same time stronger than usual. "You know who I am. I am Thor, son of Odin Allfather, son of your Lady Frigg. And now, if you will allow it, I want to be your King..."

The cheers that followed that statement were enough of an answer.

Deciding to take advantage of the obvious happiness of the people, Thor continued with the next part of his announcement. He motioned for Jane to join him and she did, no nervousness, no hesitation, and with the same boldness she'd used when offering herself to rule by her beloved's side, he stepped by her side and introduced herself:

"I am Jane, Daughter of Foster, I am mortal and hail from Midgard." She made a pause before continuing, in a softer voice. "I know I am not what most of you would expect of a future Queen. But I love your King with all my heart, and what little I've had the chance to get to see of this Realm, of its people, I've come to love as well. So I hope you will give me a chance to be one of you, to be your Queen."

Another round of cheers was the answer, and Jane smiled brightly.

There was only one thing left to address, and they all knew it, Thor also realized he had the perfect way to do so. So he waited until the crowd quieted again, and began talking.

"Years ago, when I was but a child, a wise man told my brother and I one thing." The blonde declared. "He said: 'Only one of you can ascend to the throne, but both of you were born to be king'..." He let out a breath. "I might not have always followed the message implied, but I never forgot those words. Which is why I would like to ask my brother to join me now. For I wish nothing more than for the spirit of those words to become true now, for him to be stand by my side as I rule, as my regent, my most trusted advisor, as the brother he is and always will be."

Loki couldn't hide the shock he felt as he heard those words (neither could Odin, but he was on the back, out of sight, and therefore his reaction didn't matter as much). Nightingale's and Rose's laughter tinkled as they pulled Loki to stand by Thor's free side; only to grow even more when he refused to let them back down afterwards; holding each of them with one arm.

"People of Asgard!" Thor called, smiling at what was happening. "My brother, Loki Odinsson, his wife: Lady Nightingale Sebastiandottir of Midgard, and their youngest daughter: Rose Alfdis Lokidotttir, Princess of Midgard and Asgard!"

Even if Hel couldn't be there, she was as much a Lokidottir as Rose was, and no one from the Royal Family would ever forget it. Hopefully a day would come when she would be able to stand by them too.

The cheering went on for a long while. Eventually Lady Frigg joined them in standing by the railing, waving at her subjects, cries of 'Queen Mother' celebrating her presence. It was obvious Asgard wouldn't be forgetting her any time soon.

It took a while, but eventually Odin joined them as well, unsurprisingly prompted by Rose, who got him to scoop her up again.

They made quite a picture. The Queen Mother and the former Allfather, with their sons, the King and Prince-Regent, as well as their wives and even a little princess, all standing in between them. The Ruling Family of Asgard, the Protectors of the Nine Realms.

"Asgard!" The Head Elder stepped forward to speak then. "I give you your Royal Family!"

* * *

In case you don't know it, the songs sung by Nightingale in this chapter are: "Completely", originally performed by Jennifer Day and "In My Daughter's Eyes" from Martina McBride.

If anyone's wondering what the hell happened with Odin in this one... I honestly don't know. I was writing the scene where Rose meets Frigg and suddenly that came out. I actually like it. I don't like Odin, not really, but I don't think he's as hopeless as some of my fics might make it seem (at least not in this universe). Others have seen before that I give him a chance (like in Kinship), that's all this is, no promise that he's good, just a chance at redemption.

I hope you liked everything else I did with this particular AU (like the new King and Queen...).

Now, like I promised, this will be the last AU for the time being. The next story up will be the actual sequel to Nightingale. Though, for the purpose of the story, ignore the last paragraph of the Encore, everything else will have happened precisely.

"Nexus" tentative title for Nightingale's sequel, will be up in one month exactly (or four weeks from this Friday, if you prefer to see it like that). This is because I need time to work it to my satisfaction. And as at least some of you must know, I'm also working on another series of fics "Menel", which is currently a higher priority because I'm trying very hard to write and post as much of it as I can before the second season begins (since I will be ignoring it completely). Still, that's when I'll begin with that. I'll be posting a notice at the end of Nightingale sometime during the week before that particular Friday.

So that's that for now. If you haven't yet my Menel series, please do!

Also, as always, don't forget to tell me what you like, what you didn't, and what you would like to see. Since I'm still in the process of writing the sequel I may just add things you ask for. Also, while right now I'm going back to the main timeline, there will be more AUs later on (I have in mind at least three, possibly more).

Thank you so much for your continued support. See ya around!


End file.
